Sed rate (ESR) cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 24 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $4.50 to $268.00, with a median of $33.00. The lowest listed price is at Southcoast Hospitals Group - Tobey Hospital Campus — $28.50 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $13.06 at 29 hospitals.
- The median here, $33.00, is 13% below the US median of $38.00.
- That is 12.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.70).
- 16 of 24 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 24 facilities across 19 cities for code 85652, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 3, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 and Sep 1, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southcoast Hospitals Group - Tobey Hospital Campus lowest Wareham, MA · (508) 679-3131 HC Sedimentation Rate RBC Automated File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $4.50 | $9.00 | $1.92–$8.42 | 50% |
| Boston Medical Center South Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Chg Sedimentation Rate RBC Automated File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $4.53 | $10.06 | $2.38–$394.86 | 55% |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Chg Sedimentation Rate RBC Automated File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $5.15 | $11.45 | $2.38–$475.07 | 55% |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC RBC Sed Rate Auto - Sedimentation Rate Automa File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $6.30 | $9.00 | $2.36–$11.72 | 30% |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC RBC Sed Rate Auto - Sedimentation Rate Automa File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $6.30 | $9.00 | $3.15–$530.75 | 30% |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC RBC Sed Rate Auto - Sedimentation Rate Automa File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $6.30 | $9.00 | $3.15–$11.10 | 30% |
| Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 RBC SED RATE, AUTOMATED File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file | $7.70 | $11.00 | $2.65–$8.64 | 30% |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Chg Sedimentation Rate RBC Automated File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $9.00 | $20.00 | $2.34–$512.54 | 55% |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton Milton, MA · (617) 696-4600 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.00 | $10.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $11.00 | $11.00 | — | — |
| Frisbie Memorial Hospital Rochester, NH · (603) 332-5211 SED RATE AUTO+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $19.00 | $19.00 | $4.44–$15.20 | — |
| Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $32.00 | $32.00 | — | — |
| New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $34.00 | $34.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth Plymouth, MA · (508) 746-2000 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $38.00 | $38.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham Needham, MA · (781) 453-3002 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $43.00 | $43.00 | — | — |
| Anna Jaques Hospital Newburyport, MA · (978) 463-1000 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $51.00 | $51.00 | — | — |
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · (781) 744-5100 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $58.00 | $58.00 | — | — |
| Exeter Hospital Exeter, NH · (603) 778-7311 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $65.00 | $65.00 | — | — |
| Portsmouth Regional Hospital Portsmouth, NH · (603) 436-5110 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $73.00 | $73.00 | $18.76–$69.35 | — |
| Seabrook Emergency Seabrook, NH · (603) 436-5110 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $73.00 | $73.00 | $18.76–$69.35 | — |
| Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · (781) 729-9000 CHG SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $102.00 | $102.00 | — | — |
| Plaistow Fser Plaistow, NH · (603) 421-2100 SED RATE AUTO+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $144.25 | $144.25 | $4.44–$137.04 | — |
| Parkland Medical Center Derry, NH · (603) 421-2100 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $144.25 | $144.25 | $4.44–$137.04 | — |
| Dover Emergency Room Dover, NH · (603) 436-5110 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $268.00 | $268.00 | $68.88–$254.60 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $4.50, median $33.00, highest $268.00 — a 59.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 18 facilities here, median $19.00. 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 8 of 14 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.