Lab tests CPT 87040 Outpatient

Blood culture cost in Brownsville, TX

In Brownsville-Harlingen, TX, 1 hospital lists a cash price for blood culture for bacteria: from $1,534.69 to $1,534.69, with a median of $1,534.69. Across Texas, the median is $239.10 at 226 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 87040, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Sep 1, 2026 and Sep 1, 2026.

Lowest$1,534.69Valley Regional Medical Center
Median$1,534.69half pay less
Highest$1,534.69in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE BLOOD $1,534.69 $1,534.69 $107.43–$1,304.49 — Sep 1, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $1,534.69, median $1,534.69, highest $1,534.69.

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

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.

2 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87040 ($119.20). 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.

Harlingen Medical Center Harlingen, TXBLOOD CULTURE ROUTINE LABCORP $10.00 file
Harlingen Medical Center Harlingen, TXCULTURE BACT,BLOOD W/ISO & ID $10.00 file