Medicare reimbursement reference

CPT 85652: $4

Sedimentation rate (ESR), automated. The federally-set baseline for what this code costs when Medicare pays — the standard public-domain reference for self-pay or insured bill review.

Data updated 81 days ago·verified today·Source: CMS Physician Fee Schedule

National average

$4

Per CMS Physician Fee Schedule, effective 2026-07-29. Non-facility national-average. Real Medicare payments adjust by ±15% based on Geographic Practice Cost Index.

No bill yet, just pricing this out? Ask the provider for a written Good Faith Estimate before you schedule — under the No Surprises Act, uninsured and self-pay patients can request one.

What CPT 85652 actually is

Sedimentation rate (ESR), automated (CPT 85652). This code falls in the "Lab" service family. Medicare's national-average non-facility allowed amount is the federally-set baseline; commercial insurance and hospital cash-pay rates often run multiples of this number for the same code, depending on the facility and contract.

The number above is one piece of context. The other two benchmarks worth knowing:

  • Hospital cash-pay rate

    Federally required to be published by every US hospital under 45 CFR §180.50 (the Hospital Price Transparency rule). The hospital’s own machine-readable file is the authoritative source. Same code; rates vary widely by facility.

  • Insurance-negotiated rate

    Whatever your specific insurance plan and the specific facility have contracted for the same code. Visible on your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) after the claim posts.

  • Medicare allowed amount (this page)

    $4 for code 85652, set in federal law and updated annually by CMS. Used as the floor benchmark in most bill-review work.

Where CPT 85652 commonly shows up on a bill

Common patterns to look at when reviewing this code:

  • 01.A panel billed (e.g., comprehensive metabolic panel, 80053) and then individual components also billed (CMP + glucose + creatinine + BUN, etc.).
  • 02.Repeat draw fees on the same encounter.
  • 03.Pathology slides billed at the technical-and-professional rate when only one component was rendered.

These patterns are documented in CMS billing guidance, the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits, and Office of Inspector General audit reports. None of them are accusations about any specific bill or facility — they’re the checks that exist because the patterns themselves exist.

How to check CPT 85652 on your bill

A few quick checks you can run yourself:

  • 01.See if a panel and its individual parts are both on the bill — a panel already includes the pieces inside it.
  • 02.Count any repeat draw or handling fees for a single visit.
  • 03.Match each lab line to a test you actually had.

If your bill has this code

See exactly how your charge compares to $4— in just a few minutes.

Upload a photo or PDF of your bill. Our system reads every line, compares each charge to six federal data sources (CMS PFS, NADAC drug benchmarks, federally-required Hospital Price Transparency files, the National Correct Coding Initiative, CMS Hospital Compare quality data, and IRS Publication 78 for charity-care eligibility), and drafts dispute letters for anything worth questioning — with the codes, the math, and the federal-law citations already inside.

  • ✓Line-by-line audit, every charge benchmarked.
  • ✓Up to 5 dispute letters drafted — sign and mail.
  • ✓Charity-care application if your hospital is non-profit.
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Bundling check for CPT 85652

CPT 85652appears in known CMS National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) bundling rules. When two codes in a pair are billed separately for the same date of service, the lesser code is generally not separately payable — worth a look if you see both on your bill.

  • CPT 85652+CPT 85025Modifier required to separate

    CBC with differential (85025) and automated sedimentation rate (85652) on the same date — distinct measurements but the CBC subsumes most ESR diagnostic value. -59 modifier and documentation of distinct clinical purpose required.

General information from the CMS NCCI program — not an accusation about any specific bill, and not legal or billing advice for your situation. Whether a pair is billed correctly depends on the documentation behind it.

Common questions about CPT 85652

How much does CPT 85652 cost?
Medicare's national-average non-facility allowed amount for CPT 85652 is approximately $4 as of 2026-07-29. Hospital cash-pay rates and commercial-insurance contracted rates for the same code are typically higher; the gap is what most billing reviews focus on.
Why is my CPT 85652 bill higher than $4?
Three common reasons: (1) the rate above is non-facility — bills from inpatient hospital settings can be paid differently, (2) commercial insurance contracts and hospital chargemasters are not bound by Medicare rates and often run several multiples higher, and (3) modifiers on the bill may add or subtract from the base rate. The federally-mandated Hospital Price Transparency file for the facility that billed you is the authoritative source for the cash-pay and insurance-negotiated rates at that specific hospital.
Can I dispute a CPT 85652 charge?
Yes. Federal and state consumer-protection law gives every patient the right to (1) request an itemized statement (HIPAA §164.524), (2) receive a Good Faith Estimate before scheduled service (No Surprises Act, 2022), (3) dispute amounts billed without prior consent or proper notice, and (4) apply for charity care if the facility is a 501(c)(3) non-profit (ACA §501(r)). The benchmark above is one piece of evidence; the hospital's own HPT file is another.
What's the source of this number?
The CMS Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) — published annually by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and required by 42 USC §1395w-4 to be publicly available. We refresh from CMS quarterly. Last updated: 2026-07-29.

P.S. If you’re holding a bill with code 85652on it right now, the fastest path is to run it through the audit — it takes just a few minutes and shows the exact gap between what was charged and the $4 benchmark above. Start the free audit →

P.P.S. If the bill came from a non-profit hospital, federal law (ACA §501(r)) requires them to offer charity care to patients below specific income thresholds. We auto-check 501(c)(3) status against the IRS Publication 78 database and draft the application letter when applicable.

P.P.P.S. The $4number above is a benchmark, not a verdict. The right question on any specific bill is whether the documentation in your medical record supports the code that was billed — that’s what every bill-review process ultimately comes down to.

Source & methodology

Rate from the CMS Physician Fee Schedule, refreshed quarterly from cms.gov. National-average non-facility allowed amount; real Medicare payment adjusts by ±15% per locality (GPCI). The CMS PFS is in the public domain (17 USC §105). Full data-source register at /data-sources.