go back

Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR)

Alabama rates for HCPCS 85651

This blood test measures how quickly red blood cells settle to the bottom of a test tube over a set period of time, using a manual laboratory method rather than an automated instrument. A faster settling rate can be a sign of inflammation somewhere in the body, though it does not point to a specific cause.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR) cost?

$4.90

Typical negotiated rate. In Alabama, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4.90 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $4.27 from a physician practice, and about $8.51 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$4.27$3.16 to $4.90
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$8.51$4.90 to $30.20

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $9 · 10th to 90th $4 to $66Professionalmedian $4 · 10th to 90th $3 to $8
$2$5$10$20$50$100facility $9professional $4

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.68
Median
$11.75
Typical High
$72.44
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.95
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$7.76
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.82
Median
$2.14
Typical High
$2.14
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7.76
Median
$9.33
Typical High
$12.59
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.45
Median
$2.57
Typical High
$3.63
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.39
Median
$3.72
Typical High
$13.49
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.04
Median
$3.02
Typical High
$12.02
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.09
Median
$3.80
Typical High
$4.47
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.29
Median
$2.88
Typical High
$5.01

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 9.5 times more in West Virginia than in Washington, DC. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

Alabama· 27th of 51

$4.90

WV $30.90DC $3.24

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.