Sed rate (ESR) cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 11 hospitals list a cash price for sed rate (ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate): from $33.00 to $56.00, with a median of $56.00. The lowest listed price is at Chinese Hospital Association — $23.00 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $43.41 at 84 hospitals.
Cash prices at 11 facilities across 10 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 Apr 1, 2026 and Jul 22, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Hospital Association lowest San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Red blood cell sedimentation rate, to detect inflammation, automated | $33.00 | $33.00 | $0.89–$260.90 | — | Jul 22, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 HC Esr Automated | $54.00 | $135.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 SEDIMENTATION RATE RBC AUTOMATED | $56.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | 44% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $33.00, median $56.00, highest $56.00 — a 1.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $56.00. 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 1 of 10 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.