Sed rate (ESR) cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 6 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate) as an inpatient: from $4.86 to $52.02, with a median of $6.21. The lowest listed price is at St Charles Parish Hospital — $1.35 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $24.24 at 36 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 5 cities for code 85652, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Charles Parish Hospital lowest Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC SED RATE,AUTOMATED | $4.86 | $18.00 | — | 73% | — source file |
| Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC SED RATE,AUTOMATED | $5.06 | $23.00 | — | 78% | — source file |
| St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC SED RATE,AUTOMATED | $5.76 | $18.00 | — | 68% | — source file |
| The Ochsner West Campus Extended Care Hospital Jefferson, LA HC SED RATE,AUTOMATED | $6.66 | $18.00 | — | 63% | — source file |
| St Charles Surgical Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 529-6600 SEDIMENTATION RATE AUTO | $17.99 | $51.00 | $2.65–$23.36 | 65% | — source file |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC SED RATE,AUTOMATED | $52.02 | $185.77 | — | 72% | — source file |
Inpatient: lowest $4.86, median $6.21, highest $52.02 — a 10.7× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $19.89 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.