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Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes

Pennsylvania 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?

$10.72

Typical negotiated rate. In Pennsylvania, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $10.72 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $9.33 from a physician practice, and about $26.30 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$9.33$8.91 to $10.72
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$26.30$13.80 to $33.88

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $26 · 10th to 90th $10 to $66Professionalmedian $9 · 10th to 90th $9 to $20
$5$10$20$50$100facility $26professional $9

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
$9.55
Median
$26.92
Typical High
$42.66
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$9.33
Typical High
$26.92
Capital Blue Cross
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$60.26
Median
$81.28
Typical High
$8,511.38
Capital Blue Cross
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$8.71
Typical High
$11.22
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.13
Median
$17.38
Typical High
$38.90
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.61
Median
$14.45
Typical High
$27.54
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.37
Median
$8.13
Typical High
$16.22
Geisinger
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$11.22
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$11.22
Geisinger
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$11.22
Median
$12.59
Typical High
$19.50
Martin's Point
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$9.12
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$42.66
Martin's Point
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$9.55
Typical High
$33.11
UPMC Health Plan
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$57.54
Typical High
$117.49
UPMC Health Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10.00
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$16.22
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.17
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$13.49
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4.79
Median
$7.41
Typical High
$19.05

Where Pennsylvania 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.

Pennsylvania· 31st of 51

$10.72

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.