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Viral Culture Identification

Michigan 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?

$32.36

Typical negotiated rate. In Michigan, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $32.36 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $32.36 from a physician practice, and about $32.36 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 6 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$32.36$27.54 to $33.88
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$32.36$32.36 to $39.81

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $32 · 10th to 90th $31 to $59Professionalmedian $32 · 10th to 90th $25 to $45
$20$50$100facility $32professional $32

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
$30.90
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$58.88
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$29.51
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$40.74
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$38.90
Typical High
$67.61
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$23.99
Median
$25.12
Typical High
$25.12
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$23.99
Median
$38.02
Typical High
$48.98
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$32.36
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$112.20
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$27.54
Median
$40.74
Typical High
$63.10
Priority Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$38.02
Median
$41.69
Typical High
$44.67
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$20.42
Median
$33.88
Typical High
$33.88
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14.13
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$43.65

Where Michigan 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.

Michigan· 35th of 51

$32.36

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.