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Herpes Simplex Type 2 Fluorescent Stain Test

Washington, DC rates for HCPCS 87273

Detects herpes simplex virus type 2 directly in material swabbed or scraped from a sore, using an antibody tagged with fluorescent dye that lights up under a special microscope when the virus is there. Because the virus is looked for in the lesion itself, a positive result points to infection that is active at that site. Type 2 is the form most often responsible for genital herpes.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Herpes Simplex Type 2 Fluorescent Stain Test cost?

$8.91

Typical negotiated rate. In Washington, DC, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $8.91 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $8.91 from a physician practice, and about $20.42 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$8.91$8.91 to $8.91
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$20.42$8.91 to $40.74

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $20 · 10th to 90th $9 to $76Professionalmedian $9 · 10th to 90th $9 to $38
$10$20$50$100facility $20professional $9

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
$8.91
Median
$40.74
Typical High
$75.86
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.91
Median
$8.91
Typical High
$8.91
CareFirst
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$31.62
Median
$56.23
Typical High
$134.90
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$19.50
Median
$20.42
Typical High
$46.77
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.46
Median
$13.49
Typical High
$93.33
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$23.44
Median
$23.44
Typical High
$24.55
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7.08
Median
$14.45
Typical High
$14.45
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$5.01
Median
$7.59
Typical High
$18.62

Where Washington, DC sits

The same service costs 2.6 times more in South Dakota 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.

Washington, DC· 51st of 51

$8.91

SD $22.91DC $8.91

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.