Sed rate (ESR) cost in Appleton, WI
In Appleton, WI, 4 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $7.98 to $12.60, with a median of $12.00. The lowest listed price is at Ascension NE Wisconsin - St Elizabeth Campus — $4.02 less than the median here. Across Wisconsin, the median is $36.96 at 80 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 2 cities for code 85652, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Appleton, WI.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension NE Wisconsin - St Elizabeth Campus lowest Appleton, WI · (920) 738-2000 HC RBC SEDIMENTATION RATE AUTOMATED | $7.98 | $14.00 | $2.84–$6.07 | 43% | — source file |
| Ascension Calumet Hospital Chilton, WI · (920) 849-2386 HC RBC SEDIMENTATION RATE AUTOMATED | $11.40 | $20.00 | $2.84–$6.07 | 43% | — source file |
| ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton Appleton, WI ESR,AUTO (SED-RATE) | $12.60 | $22.50 | — | 44% | — source file |
| ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton Appleton, WI · (920) 731-4101 ESR,AUTO (SED-RATE) | $12.60 | $22.50 | — | 44% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $7.98, median $12.00, highest $12.60 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 of 2 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.