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Viral Culture Identification

South Carolina 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?

$30.90

Typical negotiated rate. In South Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $30.90 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $26.92 from a physician practice, and about $83.18 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$26.92$26.30 to $33.88
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$83.18$40.74 to $162

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $83 · 10th to 90th $26 to $200Professionalmedian $27 · 10th to 90th $26 to $55
$20$50$100$200facility $83professional $27

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
$26.30
Median
$102.33
Typical High
$199.53
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$26.30
Median
$26.92
Typical High
$60.26
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$30.20
Median
$56.23
Typical High
$141.25
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$30.20
Median
$36.31
Typical High
$47.86
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$64.57
Median
$112.20
Typical High
$275.42
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$16.98
Median
$22.39
Typical High
$43.65
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$33.11
Typical High
$63.10
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$18.62
Median
$33.88
Typical High
$40.74
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14.13
Median
$20.42
Typical High
$46.77

Where South Carolina 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.

South Carolina· 40th of 51

$30.90

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.