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Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes

Kentucky 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?

$7.24

Typical negotiated rate. In Kentucky, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $7.24 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $6.76 from a physician practice, and about $10.23 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$6.17 to $10.23
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$10.23$9.12 to $16.60

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $10 · 10th to 90th $7 to $17Professionalmedian $7 · 10th to 90th $6 to $13
$5$10$20$50facility $10professional $7

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

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2.45
Median
$9.12
Typical High
$9.55
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2.45
Median
$9.55
Typical High
$11.22
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.08
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$11.75
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5.62
Median
$6.31
Typical High
$10.23
CareSource
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$11.22
Median
$13.49
Typical High
$15.85
CareSource
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$11.22
Median
$14.13
Typical High
$22.39
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$16.60
Typical High
$26.92
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5.75
Median
$75.86
Typical High
$75.86
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3.72
Median
$6.17
Typical High
$13.49
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
$1.23
Median
$4.79
Typical High
$5.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$0.49
Median
$1.91
Typical High
$2.24

Where Kentucky 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.

Kentucky· 51st of 51

$7.24

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.