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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 July 2026.

How much does Antibiotic Effectiveness Panel For Bacteria cost?

$8.71

Typical negotiated rate. In Alabama, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $8.71 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $7.76 from a physician practice, and about $10.00 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 5 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$7.76$7.41 to $9.55
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$10.00$9.55 to $26.30

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $10 · 10th to 90th $9 to $60Professionalmedian $8 · 10th to 90th $5 to $14
$5$10$20$50$100$200$500facility $10professional $8

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
$8.71
Median
$10.00
Typical High
$64.57
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.75
Median
$7.76
Typical High
$13.80
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2.88
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$11.75
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10.00
Median
$11.75
Typical High
$15.85
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.03
Median
$6.31
Typical High
$8.91
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.76
Median
$9.12
Typical High
$27.54
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.80
Median
$5.25
Typical High
$30.90
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.13
Median
$7.76
Typical High
$10.96
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.63
Median
$5.13
Typical High
$12.02

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 10.5 times more in West Virginia than in New Mexico. 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· 50th of 51

$8.71

WV $83.18NM $7.94

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.