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Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes

Massachusetts 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 July 2026.

How much does Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes cost?

$11.22

Typical negotiated rate. In Massachusetts, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $11.22 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $11.22 from a physician practice, and about $22.39 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$11.22$10.23 to $15.14
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$22.39$15.14 to $33.11

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $22 · 10th to 90th $10 to $40Professionalmedian $11 · 10th to 90th $5 to $26
$10$100$1Kfacility $22professional $11

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
$5.50
Median
$16.22
Typical High
$33.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.50
Median
$10.23
Typical High
$25.70
AllWays Health Partners
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10.23
Median
$15.85
Typical High
$100.00
AllWays Health Partners
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.90
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$27.54
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$22.39
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$39.81
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7.41
Median
$10.72
Typical High
$10.72
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7.41
Median
$17.78
Typical High
$29.51
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.92
Median
$13.18
Typical High
$29.51
Fallon Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.61
Median
$45.71
Typical High
$7,079.46
Fallon Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$16.22
Median
$16.22
Typical High
$19.05
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$11.22
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$23.99
Mass General Brigham
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10.23
Median
$15.85
Typical High
$100.00
Mass General Brigham
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.90
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$27.54
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.62
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$18.62
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.90
Median
$10.23
Typical High
$24.55

Where Massachusetts sits

The same service costs 2.4 times more in Hawaii 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.

Massachusetts· 28th of 51

$11.22

HI $20.42DC $8.51

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.