Sed rate (ESR) cost in Austin, TX
In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 27 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $28.44 to $750.00, with a median of $61.15. The lowest listed price is at Ascension Seton Edgar B Davis — $32.71 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $61.15 at 217 hospitals.
- The median here, $61.15, is 61% above the US median of $38.00.
- That is 22.6× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.70).
- Austin, TX ranks 2nd of 3 metro areas in Texas by median, cheapest first.
- 10 of 27 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 27 facilities across 14 cities for code 85652, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 11, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Oct 30, 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension Seton Edgar B Davis lowest Luling, TX · (830) 875-7000 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $28.44 | $79.00 | $2.27–$35.55 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Hays Kyle, TX · (512) 324-5000 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $30.69 | $85.25 | $2.27–$38.36 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin Austin, TX · (512) 324-1000 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $31.86 | $88.50 | $2.27–$39.83 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Southwest Austin, TX · (512) 324-9000 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $31.86 | $88.50 | $2.27–$39.83 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Smithville Smithville, TX · (512) 237-3214 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $31.86 | $88.50 | $2.27–$39.83 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Northwest Austin, TX · (512) 324-6000 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $31.86 | $88.50 | $2.27–$39.83 | 64% |
| Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Tx Austin, TX · (512) 324-7000 SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $31.86 | $88.50 | $2.27–$39.83 | 64% |
| Pam Specialty Hospital of Luling Luling, TX RBC SED Rate Automated (ESR) File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $36.80 | $36.80 | $2.03–$33.12 | — |
| Ascension Cedar Park Cedar Park, TX · (512) 528-7000 SED RATE, AUTOMATED+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $51.27 | $142.41 | $2.27–$64.08 | 64% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Round Rock Round Rock, TX · (512) 509-0401 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $61.15 | $101.92 | $2.27–$91.73 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Buda Buda, TX · (737) 999-6200 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $61.15 | $101.92 | $2.27–$76.44 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Emergency Medical Center - Cedar Park Cedar Park, TX · (512) 509-0401 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Jun 3, 2026 · source file | $61.15 | $101.92 | $2.83–$66.25 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Pflugerville Pflugerville, TX · (512) 654-6100 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $61.15 | $101.92 | $2.27–$91.73 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Austin Austin, TX · (512) 654-2100 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $61.15 | $101.92 | $2.27–$76.44 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Lakeway Lakeway, TX · (512) 509-0401 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $61.15 | $101.92 | $2.27–$91.73 | 40% |
| Ascension Seton Austin, TX SEDIMENTATION RATE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $61.95 | $88.50 | $2.27–$39.83 | 30% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Taylor Taylor, TX · (512) 352-7611 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Oct 30, 2026 · source file | $63.60 | $106.00 | $3.96–$84.80 | 40% |
| Texas Children's Hospital - Austin Austin, TX · (832) 824-1100 TC SEDIMENTATION RATE AUTOMATED File of Mar 5, 2026 · source file | $76.38 | $114.00 | $2.70–$108.30 | 33% |
| Cornerstone Specialty Hospitals Round Rock Round Rock, TX SED RATE (AUTO) File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $217.00 | $217.00 | — | — |
| St. David's Georgetown Hospital Georgetown, TX · (512) 476-7111 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $327.00 | $327.00 | $220.40 | — |
| St. David's South Austin Medical Center Bastrop, TX · (512) 448-7107 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $398.00 | $398.00 | $268.25 | — |
| St. David's Round Rock Medical Center Leander, TX · (512) 341-1000 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $426.00 | $426.00 | $287.12 | — |
| Heart Hosp of Austin at St. David's Round Rock Round Rock, TX Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $428.00 | $428.00 | $2.32–$363.80 | — |
| St. David's Medical Center Manor, TX · (512) 476-7111 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $428.00 | $428.00 | $21.40–$385.20 | — |
| Heart Hosp of Austin Austin, TX Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $428.00 | $428.00 | $2.32–$363.80 | — |
| St.davids Surgical Hospital Austin, TX Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $750.00 | $750.00 | $2.70–$637.50 | — |
| St. David's North Austin Medical Center Austin, TX · (512) 901-1000 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $750.00 | $750.00 | $517.50 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $28.44, median $61.15, highest $750.00 — a 26.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 19 facilities here, median $61.15. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 16 of 26 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 sed rate (ESR) is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Sed rate (ESR) explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 85652 ($36.80). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center Austin, TXESR AUTO | $2.97 | file |