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Viral Culture Identification

Nebraska 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?

$52.48

Typical negotiated rate. In Nebraska, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $52.48 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $27.54 from a physician practice, and about $115 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$27.54$22.39 to $81.28
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$115$51.29 to $245

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $115 · 10th to 90th $24 to $407Professionalmedian $28 · 10th to 90th $20 to $224
$20$50$100$200facility $115professional $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
$66.07
Median
$165.96
Typical High
$407.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$22.39
Median
$22.39
Typical High
$223.87
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$79.43
Median
$104.71
Typical High
$245.47
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$36.31
Median
$52.48
Typical High
$54.95
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$38.90
Median
$66.07
Typical High
$81.28
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$20.42
Median
$43.65
Typical High
$162.18
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$15.14
Median
$20.42
Typical High
$37.15
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$41.69
Median
$41.69
Typical High
$69.18
Midlands
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$41.69
Median
$41.69
Typical High
$41.69
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14.13
Median
$30.20
Typical High
$33.88
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$19.50
Median
$20.42
Typical High
$67.61

Where Nebraska 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.

Nebraska· 5th of 51

$52.48

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.