Sed rate (ESR) cost in Louisville, KY — inpatient
In Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN, 3 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate) as an inpatient: from $18.00 to $70.20, with a median of $22.40. The lowest listed price is at Norton Hospitals — $4.40 less than the median here. Across Kentucky, the median is $32.67 at 15 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 85652, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 11, 2026 and Jun 3, 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 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton Hospitals lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $18.00 | $90.00 | $14.85–$82.98 | 80% | Feb 11, 2026 source file |
| Norton Hospitals lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $18.00 | $90.00 | $14.85–$82.98 | 80% | Feb 11, 2026 source file |
| Norton Hospitals lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $18.00 | $90.00 | $14.85–$82.98 | 80% | Feb 13, 2026 source file |
| Norton Hospitals lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $18.00 | $90.00 | $14.85–$76.50 | 80% | Feb 11, 2026 source file |
| Norton Hospitals lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $18.00 | $90.00 | $14.85–$82.98 | 80% | Feb 11, 2026 source file |
| Norton Hospitals lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $18.00 | $90.00 | $14.85–$82.98 | 80% | Feb 11, 2026 source file |
| Norton Clark Hospital Jeffersonville, IN · (812) 283-2147 HB SED RATE AUTOMATED | $22.40 | $160.00 | $68.83–$140.00 | 86% | Jun 3, 2026 source file |
| St. Vincent Salem Hospital Salem, IN · (812) 883-5881 SEDIMENT RATE ERYTHROCYTE;AUTM | $70.20 | $117.00 | $2.00–$6.16 | 40% | — source file |
Inpatient: lowest $18.00, median $22.40, highest $70.20 — a 3.9× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $32.67 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 3 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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.