go back

Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR)

Montana 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?

$5.37

Typical negotiated rate. In Montana, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $5.37 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $5.01 from a physician practice, and about $11.22 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$5.01$4.27 to $5.75
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$11.22$5.75 to $45.71

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $11 · 10th to 90th $5 to $78Professionalmedian $5 · 10th to 90th $4 to $22
$10$100$1K$10K$100Kfacility $11professional $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
$22.39
Median
$53.70
Typical High
$165.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$4.68
Typical High
$22.91
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.75
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$69,183.10
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.75
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$5.75
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.17
Median
$7.24
Typical High
$24.55
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.40
Median
$5.01
Typical High
$6.17
MountainHealth Co-op
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$12.88
MountainHealth Co-op
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$12.88
Providence
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.13
Median
$8.32
Typical High
$24.55
Providence
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.80
Median
$3.80
Typical High
$6.17
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$4.27
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.57
Median
$2.88
Typical High
$5.01

Where Montana 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.

Montana· 21st of 51

$5.37

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.