go back

Viral Culture Identification

Louisiana 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?

$40.74

Typical negotiated rate. In Louisiana, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $40.74 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $35.48 from a physician practice, and about $46.77 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$35.48$26.92 to $41.69
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$46.77$40.74 to $87.10

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $47 · 10th to 90th $34 to $123Professionalmedian $35 · 10th to 90th $20 to $54
$20$50$100$200facility $47professional $35

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
$35.48
Median
$45.71
Typical High
$123.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$25.70
Median
$37.15
Typical High
$53.70
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$41.69
Median
$67.61
Typical High
$125.89
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$28.18
Median
$37.15
Typical High
$67.61
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$30.20
Median
$30.20
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$36.31
Median
$93.33
Typical High
$208.93
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$15.85
Median
$22.39
Typical High
$38.90
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14.13
Median
$33.88
Typical High
$41.69
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14.13
Median
$19.95
Typical High
$46.77

Where Louisiana 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.

Louisiana· 11th of 51

$40.74

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.