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Viral Culture Identification

Delaware rates for HCPCS 87255

This is a laboratory test that attempts to grow a virus from a patient sample in living cells, then identifies it using methods other than watching for the visible changes it causes to those cells. It is one way to confirm a viral infection, though it has largely been supplemented by faster molecular tests in many settings.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Viral Culture Identification cost?

$38.90

Typical negotiated rate. In Delaware, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $38.90 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $28.18 from a physician practice, and about $407 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 4 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$28.18$26.92 to $102
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$407$35.48 to $447

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $407 · 10th to 90th $28 to $550Professionalmedian $28 · 10th to 90th $27 to $102
$20$50$100$200$500facility $407professional $28

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
$28.18
Median
$407.38
Typical High
$549.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$26.92
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$102.33
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$21.88
Median
$21.88
Typical High
$21.88
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$20.89
Median
$24.55
Typical High
$63.10
Highmark BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$223.87
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$16.98
Median
$22.91
Typical High
$46.77

Where Delaware sits

The same service costs 3.0 times more in Alaska 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.

Delaware· 18th of 51

$38.90

AK $75.86DC $25.12

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.