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Gel Diffusion Test For A Specific Substance

Maryland rates for HCPCS 86331

A laboratory test in which the sample and a matching testing solution are placed in separate wells cut into a gel and left to spread slowly toward each other. If the substance being looked for is present, a visible line forms in the gel where the two meet. The result is a present or absent answer, reported once for each substance the laboratory checks for.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Gel Diffusion Test For A Specific Substance cost?

$10.00

Typical negotiated rate. In Maryland, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $10.00 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $9.55 from a physician practice, and about $38.90 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$9.55$7.94 to $14.79
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$38.90$8.32 to $40.74

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $39 · 10th to 90th $7 to $55Professionalmedian $10 · 10th to 90th $7 to $23
$5$10$20$50facility $39professional $10

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
$6.61
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$54.95
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7.94
Median
$10.00
Typical High
$22.91
CareFirst
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.17
Median
$9.55
Typical High
$11.75
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.31
Median
$8.32
Typical High
$15.49
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.61
Median
$12.02
Typical High
$29.51
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$12.02
Median
$13.80
Typical High
$17.78
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.01
Median
$7.76
Typical High
$30.20
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.01
Median
$7.08
Typical High
$11.22
Wellpoint
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.68
Median
$8.32
Typical High
$17.78

Where Maryland sits

The same service costs 2.6 times more in South Dakota 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· 48th of 51

$10.00

SD $22.91DC $8.91

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.