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Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes

Georgia 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 Georgia, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $9.55 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $7.59 from a physician practice, and about $15.14 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$7.59$5.62 to $16.60
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$15.14$11.22 to $25.12

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $15 · 10th to 90th $9 to $39Professionalmedian $8 · 10th to 90th $4 to $22
$5$10$20$50facility $15professional $8

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
$7.59
Median
$7.59
Typical High
$20.89
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.59
Median
$9.77
Typical High
$11.22
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$9.77
Median
$15.14
Typical High
$38.90
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3.55
Median
$5.89
Typical High
$21.88
CareSource
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$8.71
Typical High
$8.71
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$11.22
Median
$25.12
Typical High
$57.54
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.08
Median
$13.18
Typical High
$16.98
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$12.30
Median
$16.98
Typical High
$41.69
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
$7.76
Typical High
$23.99
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
$4.79
Typical High
$5.50
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$1.51
Median
$1.91
Typical High
$2.19

Where Georgia 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.

Georgia· 36th 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.