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Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes

Arizona rates for HCPCS 87166

Examination of fluid or scrapings under a microscope arranged so that light strikes the sample from the side, making extremely thin corkscrew-shaped bacteria stand out bright against a dark background. It is used mainly to look for the organism that causes syphilis in fluid taken from a sore, and it can give an answer straight away.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes cost?

$9.55

Typical negotiated rate. In Arizona, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $9.55 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $6.76 from a physician practice, and about $22.39 from a hospital or other facility.

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 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$6.76$5.89 to $7.59
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$22.39$10.96 to $33.11

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $22 · 10th to 90th $8 to $51Professionalmedian $7 · 10th to 90th $5 to $13
$5$10$20$50$100facility $22professional $7

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$36.31
Typical High
$58.88
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.59
Median
$7.59
Typical High
$8.32
BCBS Arizona
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$6.31
Median
$28.84
Typical High
$43.65
BCBS Arizona
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5.89
Median
$9.55
Typical High
$13.49
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$8.13
Median
$22.39
Typical High
$31.62
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.59
Median
$10.00
Typical High
$16.98
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.59
Median
$12.30
Typical High
$100.00
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4.79
Median
$6.46
Typical High
$6.92
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$44.67
Median
$44.67
Typical High
$44.67
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4.79
Median
$6.61
Typical High
$15.49
2 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$3.80
Median
$3.80
Typical High
$3.80
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$1.51
Median
$1.51
Typical High
$1.51

Where Arizona sits

The same service costs 3.5 times more in Alaska than in Kentucky. 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.

Arizona· 35th of 51

$9.55

AK $25.70KY $7.24

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.