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Herpes Simplex Type 2 Fluorescent Stain Test

North Carolina 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?

$9.55

Typical negotiated rate. In North Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $9.55 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $9.55 from a physician practice, and about $12.88 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$9.55$9.55 to $10.72
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$12.88$10.23 to $28.18

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $13 · 10th to 90th $9 to $40Professionalmedian $10 · 10th to 90th $8 to $16
$10$20$50facility $13professional $10

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
$9.55
Median
$11.48
Typical High
$38.02
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$9.55
Median
$9.55
Typical High
$15.85
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$27.54
Median
$48.98
Typical High
$48.98
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.91
Median
$10.72
Typical High
$14.79
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.32
Median
$23.44
Typical High
$54.95
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.17
Median
$8.32
Typical High
$18.20
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10.00
Median
$10.00
Typical High
$20.89
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7.24
Median
$12.88
Typical High
$22.39
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$9.55
Median
$10.23
Typical High
$10.23
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.31
Median
$15.85
Typical High
$20.89
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6.03
Median
$7.94
Typical High
$16.60
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$70.79
Median
$70.79
Typical High
$70.79

Where North Carolina 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.

North Carolina· 47th of 51

$9.55

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.