Sed rate (ESR) cost in Harrisburg, PA
In Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $4.30 to $13.80, with a median of $5.96. The lowest listed price is at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center — $1.66 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $22.40 at 55 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 5 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center lowest Camp Hill, PA · (717) 763-2100 85652 RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED Tech | $4.30 | $18.00 | $2.30–$14.40 | 76% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center Enola, PA · (717) 981-9000 85652 RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED Tech | $5.66 | $18.00 | $2.30–$14.40 | 69% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, PA · (717) 531-8521 SC SEDIMENTATION RATE (SQ) | $5.96 | $18.00 | $2.30–$14.40 | 67% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, PA · (717) 531-8521 SEDIMENTATION RATE (ESR) (SQ) | $5.96 | $18.00 | $2.30–$14.40 | 67% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, PA · (717) 531-8521 Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate. | $5.96 | $18.00 | $2.30–$14.40 | 67% | — source file |
| UPMC Pinnacle Hospitals Harrisburg, PA · (717) 782-3131 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE | $13.80 | $23.00 | $2.67–$66.43 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Carlisle Carlisle, PA · (717) 249-1212 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE | $13.80 | $23.00 | $2.67–$38.14 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $4.30, median $5.96, highest $13.80 — a 3.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $5.96. 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 5 of 5 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 ($33.00). 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.
| Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute Harrisburg, PA85652 RBC SED RATE AUTOMATED Tech | $3.09 | file |