Sed rate (ESR) cost in Philadelphia, PA
In Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 17 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $3.90 to $365.03, with a median of $22.40. The lowest listed price is at Virtua Willingboro Hospital and 3 other hospitals — $18.50 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $22.40 at 55 hospitals.
Cash prices at 17 facilities across 16 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 Mar 24, 2026 and Apr 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtua Willingboro Hospital lowest Willinboro, NJ · (609) 835-2900 HC Sedimentation Rate Auto | $3.90 | $39.00 | $1.19–$30.13 | 90% | — source file |
| Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes lowest Camden, NJ · (856) 886-5373 HC Sedimentation Rate Auto | $3.90 | $39.00 | $1.19–$30.13 | 90% | — source file |
| Virtua Memorial Hospital lowest Mount Holly, NJ · (609) 267-0700 HC Sedimentation Rate Auto | $3.90 | $39.00 | $1.19–$30.13 | 90% | — source file |
| West Jersey Hospital lowest Voorhees, NJ · (856) 247-3000 HC Sedimentation Rate Auto | $3.90 | $39.00 | $1.19–$30.13 | 90% | — source file |
| West Jersey Hospital lowest Voorhees, NJ · (856) 247-3000 HC Sedimentation Rate Auto | $3.90 | $39.00 | $1.19–$30.13 | 90% | — source file |
| Inspira Medical Center Mannington Salem, NJ SEDIMENTATION RATE | $9.16 | $9.16 | $1.54–$12.42 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Inspira Health Center Woodbury Woodbury, NJ SEDIMENTATION RATE | $9.16 | $9.16 | $1.62–$12.42 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Inspira Medical Center Elmer Elmer, NJ · (856) 363-1000 SEDIMENTATION RATE | $9.16 | $9.16 | $1.62–$12.42 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill Mullica Hill, NJ SEDIMENTATION RATE | $9.16 | $9.16 | $1.62–$12.42 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital Malvern, PA Hc Sed Rate | $22.40 | $56.00 | — | 60% | — source file |
| Lankenau Medical Center Wynnewood, PA · (610) 645-2000 Hc Sed Rate | $22.40 | $56.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Paoli Hospital Paoli, PA · (610) 648-1000 Hc Sed Rate | $22.40 | $56.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Riddle Memorial Hospital Media, PA · (610) 566-9400 Hc Sed Rate | $22.40 | $56.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| The Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr, PA · (610) 526-3000 Hc Sed Rate | $22.40 | $56.00 | — | 60% | — source file |
| Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA · (215) 335-6000 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $62.40 | $96.00 | $2.70–$473.55 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital Darby, PA · (215) 237-4000 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $63.05 | $97.00 | $2.69–$97.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| St. Francis Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 421-4100 HC Sedimentation Rate Erythrocyte Automated | $201.50 | $310.00 | $2.65–$297.60 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · (215) 590-1000 Sedimentation Rate | $365.03 | $365.03 | $4.05–$328.53 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $3.90, median $22.40, highest $365.03 — a 93.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $22.40. 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 11 of 12 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.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are 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.
| Lower Bucks Hospital Bristol, PAHc Rbc Sed Rate, Auto | $2.00 | file |
| Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PAHc Rbc Sed Rate, Auto | $2.00 | file |
| Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PAHc Rbc Sed Rate, Auto | $2.00 | file |