Sed rate (ESR) cost in Providence, RI
In Providence-Warwick, RI-MA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $10.06 to $50.40, with a median of $13.06. The lowest listed price is at Brown University Health Morton Hospital — $3.00 less than the median here.
Cash prices at 3 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 — 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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University Health Morton Hospital lowest Taunton, MA · (508) 828-7000 HC AUTOM ERYTHROCYTE SED RATE | $10.06 | $10.06 | — | — | — source file |
| Saint Anne's Hospital Fall River, MA · (508) 674-5600 HC AUTOM ERYTHROCYTE SED RATE | $13.06 | $13.06 | — | — | — source file |
| South County Health Wakefield, RI · (401) 782-8000 Sedimentation rate, erythrocyte; automated | $50.40 | $84.00 | $2.61 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $10.06, median $13.06, highest $50.40 — a 5.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $11.56. 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 the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not 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.
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.
| Landmark Medical Center Woonsocket, RIHc Rbc Sed Rate, Auto | $2.00 | file |