Sed rate (ESR) cost in Columbus, OH
In Columbus, OH, 16 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $18.20 to $50.40, with a median of $38.03. The lowest listed price is at Mount Carmel Grove City and 5 other hospitals — $19.83 less than the median here. Across Ohio, the median is $30.31 at 86 hospitals.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 10 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 Oct 22, 2025 and Apr 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 Columbus, OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Carmel Grove City lowest Grove City, OH HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $18.20 | $28.00 | $2.37–$632.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mount Carmel East lowest Columbus, OH · (614) 234-5000 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $18.20 | $28.00 | $2.37–$632.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Diley Ridge Medical Center lowest Canal Winchester, OH · (614) 838-7911 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $18.20 | $28.00 | $2.37–$632.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mount Carmel St Ann's lowest Westerville, OH · (614) 546-4034 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $18.20 | $28.00 | $2.37–$632.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mount Carmel Dublin lowest Dublin, OH · (380) 898-9000 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $18.20 | $28.00 | $2.37–$69.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital lowest New Albany, OH · (614) 775-6600 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $18.20 | $28.00 | $2.37–$632.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Berger Hospital Circleville, OH · (740) 420-8008 Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $25.35 | $39.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Morrow County Hospital Mount Gilead, OH · (419) 946-5015 Red blood cell sedimentation rate, to detect inflammation, automated | $27.95 | $43.00 | $2.05–$41.71 | 35% | Oct 22, 2025 source file |
| Riverside Methodist Hospital Columbus, OH · (614) 566-5000 Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Doctors Hospital Columbus, OH · (614) 544-2136 Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Dublin Methodist Hospital Dublin, OH · (614) 544-8000 Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Grant Medical Center Columbus, OH · (614) 566-9164 Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Grove City Methodist Grove City, OH Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Pickerington Methodist Hospital Pickerington, OH Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Grady Memorial Hospital Delaware, OH · (740) 368-5145 Hc Sed Rate Esr Automated | $48.10 | $74.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus, OH · (614) 722-2000 RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED | $50.40 | $56.00 | $26.32–$54.88 | 10% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $18.20, median $38.03, highest $50.40 — a 2.8× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 15 facilities here, median $48.10. 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 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.