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Antibiotic Effectiveness Panel For Bacteria

Alabama rates for HCPCS 87186

After bacteria from an infection are grown in the laboratory, this test exposes them to a panel of different antibiotics at varying strengths to determine which drugs are strong enough to stop them from growing. The result helps a clinician choose an antibiotic that is likely to work rather than one the bacteria can resist. It is typically ordered after a culture has already identified the type of bacteria present.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Antibiotic Effectiveness Panel For Bacteria cost?

$10.00

Typical negotiated rate. In Alabama, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $10.00 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $6.61 from a physician practice, and about $10.47 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$6.61$4.37 to $10.00
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$10.47$10.47 to $10.47

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $10 · 10th to 90th $9 to $10Professionalmedian $7 · 10th to 90th $4 to $10
$5$10$20$50facility $10professional $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
$10.00
Typical High
$13.80
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4.57
Median
$10.00
Typical High
$10.47
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2.57
Median
$4.37
Typical High
$4.37
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$10.47
Median
$10.47
Typical High
$10.47
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
21 + 22 · Increased work + 24 · Unrelated visit after surgery + 31 + 55 · Aftercare only + 99 · Multiple modifiers
Typical Low
$6.03
Median
$7.24
Typical High
$8.91
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$6.76
Median
$7.24
Typical High
$27.54
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4.47
Median
$5.37
Typical High
$48.98
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2.95
Median
$7.76
Typical High
$44.67
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3.63
Median
$4.90
Typical High
$7.08
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
$5.01
Typical High
$5.01
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$1.55
Median
$2.00
Typical High
$2.00

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 13.2 times more in Vermont than in Maryland. 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.

Alabama· 20th of 51

$10.00

VT $85.11MD $6.46

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.