Sed rate (ESR) cost in Allentown, PA — inpatient
In Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ, 8 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate) as an inpatient: from $102.09 to $162.90, with a median of $102.09. The lowest listed price is at St Luke's Hospital - Lehighton Campus and 6 other hospitals. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $22.40 at 83 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 5 cities for code 85652, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 26, 2026 and Feb 27, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Luke's Hospital - Lehighton Campus lowest Lehighton, PA HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Allentown Campus lowest Allentown, PA HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Anderson Campus lowest Easton, PA HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus lowest Lehighton, PA · (610) 377-7001 HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Sacred Heart Campus lowest Allentown, PA HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Bethlehem Campus lowest Bethlehem, PA · (484) 526-4000 HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Easton Campus lowest Easton, PA · (610) 250-4076 HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $102.09 | $123.00 | $31.92–$34.59 | 17% |
| St Luke's Warren Hospital Phillipsburg, NJ · (908) 847-6700 HB RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $162.90 | $181.00 | $47.06–$50.90 | 10% |
Inpatient: lowest $102.09, median $102.09, highest $162.90 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 9 facilities here, median $102.09 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 of 8 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
The sed rate measures how quickly red blood cells settle in a tube. A fast rate is a general sign of inflammation; it is used for conditions such as giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica and to follow them.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 85652 ($37.20). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Hackettstown Medical Center Hackettstown, NJSed Rate Erythrocyte Auto | $3.11 | file |