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Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR)

Kentucky 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?

$3.98

Typical negotiated rate. In Kentucky, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3.98 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $3.80 from a physician practice, and about $9.55 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 6 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$3.80$3.24 to $4.68
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$9.55$3.55 to $85.11

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $10 · 10th to 90th $3 to $135Professionalmedian $4 · 10th to 90th $3 to $6
$2$10$50$200facility $10professional $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
$3.47
Median
$11.48
Typical High
$223.87
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.24
Median
$4.07
Typical High
$6.17
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.14
Median
$3.63
Typical High
$6.03
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.02
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$4.47
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.95
Median
$2.63
Typical High
$5.01
CareSource
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$6.03
CareSource
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$5.13
Typical High
$7.08
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.31
Median
$6.76
Typical High
$9.12
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.04
Median
$21.38
Typical High
$21.38
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.91
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$9.55
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.14
Median
$4.79
Typical High
$5.13

Where Kentucky 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.

Kentucky· 48th of 51

$3.98

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.