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Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR)

Louisiana 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?

$5.50

Typical negotiated rate. In Louisiana, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $5.50 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $4.79 from a physician practice, and about $10.23 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$4.79$4.17 to $5.50
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$10.23$5.37 to $19.95

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $10 · 10th to 90th $5 to $55Professionalmedian $5 · 10th to 90th $3 to $9
$2$5$10$20$50$100facility $10professional $5

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
$4.57
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$61.66
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.24
Median
$5.13
Typical High
$8.91
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.45
Median
$1.45
Typical High
$6.03
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.68
Median
$8.32
Typical High
$13.49
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.24
Median
$4.68
Typical High
$6.46
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.03
Median
$6.03
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.47
Median
$13.80
Typical High
$22.39
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.91
Median
$2.45
Typical High
$5.01
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.78
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$4.47
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.24
Median
$2.95
Typical High
$6.03

Where Louisiana 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.

Louisiana· 20th of 51

$5.50

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.