Sed rate (ESR) cost in New Orleans, LA
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 7 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $5.94 to $48.02, with a median of $31.59. The lowest listed price is at University Med Center — $25.65 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $31.59 at 11 hospitals.
Cash prices at 7 facilities across 3 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 Jun 24, 2026 and Jul 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University Med Center lowest New Orleans, LA · (504) 702-3000 Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $5.94 | $27.00 | $10.56–$9.32 | 78% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| Touro Infirmary New Orleans, LA · (504) 897-8247 Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $18.34 | $131.00 | $2.21–$98.25 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| West Jefferson Medical Center Marrero, LA · (504) 347-5511 Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $21.44 | $134.00 | $102.51–$63.52 | 84% | Jun 30, 2026 source file |
| Childrens Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 899-9511 Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $31.59 | $117.00 | $108.81–$81.90 | 73% | Jun 24, 2026 source file |
| Tulane Medical Center New Orleans, LA Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $48.02 | $343.00 | $102.90–$96.04 | 86% | Jun 25, 2026 source file |
| Lakeside Hospital Metairie, LA Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $48.02 | $343.00 | $102.90–$96.04 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| East Jefferson General Hospital Metairie, LA · (504) 988-5263 Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $48.02 | $343.00 | $102.90–$96.04 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $5.94, median $31.59, highest $48.02 — a 8.1× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 7 of 7 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 6 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.
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.
| New Orleans East Hospital New Orleans, LARed Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate to Detect Inflammation | $1.44 | file |