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Manual Blood Sedimentation Rate Test (ESR)

Virginia 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?

$4.27

Typical negotiated rate. In Virginia, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4.27 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $3.39 from a physician practice, and about $7.08 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 8 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$3.39$3.24 to $4.47
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$7.08$4.27 to $20.89

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $7 · 10th to 90th $4 to $38Professionalmedian $3 · 10th to 90th $3 to $10
$10$100$1K$10Kfacility $7professional $3

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
$3.80
Median
$14.45
Typical High
$61.66
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.24
Median
$3.47
Typical High
$9.55
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$16.98
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.19
Median
$2.57
Typical High
$3.24
CareFirst
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10.47
Median
$16.60
Typical High
$22.39
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.37
Median
$9.33
Typical High
$19.50
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.19
Median
$3.47
Typical High
$8.71
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.27
Median
$5.13
Typical High
$6.31
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.95
Median
$5.89
Typical High
$6.92
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.09
Median
$3.09
Typical High
$3.63
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.16
Median
$4.07
Typical High
$8.91
Sentara
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.55
Median
$6.03
Typical High
$10,000.00
Sentara
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.55
Median
$5.89
Typical High
$10,000.00
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1.78
Median
$4.27
Typical High
$6.17
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.14
Median
$3.02
Typical High
$5.01

Where Virginia 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.

Virginia· 41st of 51

$4.27

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.