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Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR)

Maryland 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?

$9.77

Typical negotiated rate. In Maryland, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $9.77 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $4.17 from a physician practice, and about $17.38 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$4.17$3.24 to $4.68
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$17.38$14.45 to $20.42

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $17 · 10th to 90th $9 to $23Professionalmedian $4 · 10th to 90th $3 to $22
$2$10$50$200facility $17professional $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
$9.12
Median
$17.38
Typical High
$23.99
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.16
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$21.88
CareFirst
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.10
Median
$3.89
Typical High
$10.00
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.24
Median
$2.82
Typical High
$5.50
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.24
Median
$3.98
Typical High
$10.47
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$5.13
Typical High
$6.61
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.78
Median
$2.04
Typical High
$9.55
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.45
Median
$2.95
Typical High
$5.01
Wellpoint
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.66
Median
$2.95
Typical High
$6.46

Where Maryland 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.

Maryland· 5th of 51

$9.77

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.