Blood culture cost in Birmingham, AL
In Birmingham, AL, 5 hospitals list a cash price for blood culture for bacteria: from $30.43 to $484.00, with a median of $484.00. The lowest listed price is at The Children's Hospital of Alabama — $453.57 less than the median here. Across Alabama, the median is $196.64 at 12 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 87040, 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 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 Birmingham, AL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Children's Hospital of Alabama lowest Birmingham, AL · (205) 939-9100 HC Culture-Blood, Aerobic | $30.43 | $70.77 | $48.12–$63.69 | 57% | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Alabama lowest Birmingham, AL · (205) 939-9100 HC Cult-Bld,Anaerob Resin,Aerobic | $30.43 | $70.77 | $42.46 | 57% | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Alabama lowest Birmingham, AL · (205) 939-9100 HC Culture-Blood, Aerobic | $30.43 | $70.77 | $48.12–$63.69 | 57% | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Alabama lowest Birmingham, AL · (205) 939-9100 HC Culture-Blood, Aerobic | $30.43 | $70.77 | $42.46 | 57% | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Alabama lowest Birmingham, AL · (205) 939-9100 HC Cult-Bld,Anaerob Resin,Aerobic | $30.43 | $70.77 | $48.12–$63.69 | 57% | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Alabama lowest Birmingham, AL · (205) 939-9100 HC Cult-Bld,Anaerob Resin,Aerobic | $30.43 | $70.77 | $48.12–$63.69 | 57% | — source file |
| Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital Birmingham, AL · (205) 877-1000 Hb Blood Culture | $461.30 | $461.30 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Baptist Health Princeton Hospital Birmingham, AL · (205) 783-3800 Hb Blood Culture | $484.00 | $484.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Baptist Health Walker Hospital Jasper, AL · (205) 387-4000 Hb Blood Culture | $484.00 | $484.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Baptist Health Shelby Hospital Alabaster, AL · (205) 620-8100 Hb Blood Culture | $484.00 | $484.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $30.43, median $484.00, highest $484.00 — a 15.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $484.00. 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 the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated and 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
A blood culture checks for bacteria or yeast in the blood. It is ordered for fever with signs of a serious infection, such as sepsis.
What the price covers
The price is usually for one culture set. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.