Sed rate (ESR) cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 12 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $23.20 to $649.63, with a median of $422.63. The lowest listed price is at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital — $399.43 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $17.68 at 69 hospitals.
- The median here, $422.63, is 1012% above the US median of $38.00.
- That is 156.5× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.70).
- Nashville, TN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Tennessee by median, cheapest first.
- 8 of 12 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 11 cities for code 85652, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jul 10, 2026 and Oct 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 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital lowest Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC SEDIMENTATION RATE, ESR, ERYTHOCYTE SED RATE, SED RATE, SED File of Oct 1, 2026 · source file | $23.20 | $80.00 | — | 71% |
| Sumner Regional Medical Center Gallatin, TN · (615) 328-8888 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $26.11 | $112.08 | $8.83 | 77% |
| Riverview Regional Medical Center Carthage, TN · (615) 735-9815 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $30.44 | $93.37 | $11.78 | 67% |
| Trousdale Medical Center Hartsville, TN · (615) 374-2221 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $47.36 | $93.42 | $7.91 | 49% |
| Tristar Northcrest Medical Center Springfield, TN · (615) 384-2411 SED RATE AUTO+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $233.99 | $233.99 | $2.70–$191.87 | — |
| Tristar Horizon Medical Center Dickson, TN · (615) 446-0446 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $404.26 | $404.26 | $2.70–$371.92 | — |
| Tristar Summit Medical Center Mt Juliet, TN · (615) 316-3000 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $441.00 | $441.00 | $81.19–$388.08 | — |
| Tristar Stonecrest Medical Center Smyrna, TN · (615) 768-2000 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $476.33 | $476.33 | $2.70–$438.22 | — |
| Tristar Southern Hills Medical Center Antioch, TN · (615) 781-4000 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $532.00 | $532.00 | $2.70–$468.16 | — |
| Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center Hendersonville, TN · (615) 338-1000 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $575.12 | $575.12 | $105.88–$529.11 | — |
| Tristar Skyline Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 769-2000 SED RATE AUTO+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $586.78 | $586.78 | $2.70–$575.04 | — |
| Tristar Centennial Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 342-1000 SED RATE AUTO File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $649.63 | $649.63 | $119.60–$649.63 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $23.20, median $422.63, highest $649.63 — a 28.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $23.20. 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 0 of 11 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery Nashville, TNESR | $3.51 | file |