Blood culture cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 20 hospitals list a cash price for blood culture for bacteria: from $13.42 to $971.00, with a median of $149.21. The lowest listed price is at Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery — $135.79 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $54.23 at 87 hospitals.
- The median here, $149.21, is 29% above the US median of $115.50.
- That is 14.5× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($10.32).
- Nashville, TN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Tennessee by median, cheapest first.
- 9 of 20 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 20 facilities across 17 cities for code 87040, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Oct 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 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery lowest Nashville, TN Blood Culture. File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $13.42 | $19.00 | $9.29–$584.01 | 29% |
| Macon Community Hospital Lafayette, TN · (615) 666-2147 BLOOD CULTURE ROUTINE LC 59 MOD+1 more line at this price File of Mar 21, 2026 · source file | $37.14 | $61.90 | $6.39–$55.71 | 40% |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC CULTURE BLOOD File of Oct 1, 2026 · source file | $54.23 | $187.00 | — | 71% |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 TRANSFUSION REACTION CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $79.82 | $266.05 | $9.29–$39.50 | 70% |
| Stones River Hospital Woodbury, TN · (615) 563-4001 TRANSFUSION REACTION CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $79.82 | $266.05 | $7.24–$39.50 | 70% |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 TRANSFUSION REACTION CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $79.82 | $266.05 | $9.29–$39.50 | 70% |
| Sumner Regional Medical Center Gallatin, TN · (615) 328-8888 Culture, bacterial; blood, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates (includes anaerobic culture, if appropriate) File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $94.49 | $405.54 | $10.32 | 77% |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 BLOOD CULTURE (EACH)+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $100.97 | $336.55 | $9.29–$39.50 | 70% |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 BLOOD CULTURE (EACH)+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $100.97 | $336.55 | $9.29–$39.50 | 70% |
| Stones River Hospital Woodbury, TN · (615) 563-4001 BLOOD CULTURE (EACH)+1 more line at this price File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $101.00 | $336.65 | $7.24–$39.50 | 70% |
| Riverview Regional Medical Center Carthage, TN · (615) 735-9815 Culture, bacterial; blood, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates (includes anaerobic culture, if appropriate) File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $110.12 | $337.79 | $42.77 | 67% |
| Metro Nashville General Hospital Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 Ox+3 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $121.80 | $203.00 | — | 40% |
| Williamson Medical Center Franklin, TN · (615) 435-5000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Aug 1, 2026 · source file | $127.03 | $225.30 | $90.80–$214.04 | 44% |
| Trousdale Medical Center Hartsville, TN · (615) 374-2221 Culture, bacterial; blood, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates (includes anaerobic culture, if appropriate) File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $171.39 | $338.05 | $30.21 | 49% |
| Tristar Northcrest Medical Center Springfield, TN · (615) 384-2411 CULTURE BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $224.00 | $224.00 | $10.32–$183.68 | — |
| Tristar Horizon Medical Center Dickson, TN · (615) 446-0446 CULTURE BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $529.34 | $529.34 | $10.32–$486.99 | — |
| Tristar Stonecrest Medical Center Smyrna, TN · (615) 768-2000 Culture, bacterial; blood, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates (includes anaerobic culture, if appropriate) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $622.17 | $622.17 | $10.32–$572.40 | — |
| Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center Hendersonville, TN · (615) 338-1000 Culture, bacterial; blood, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates (includes anaerobic culture, if appropriate) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $633.65 | $633.65 | $10.32–$582.96 | — |
| Tristar Southern Hills Medical Center Antioch, TN · (615) 781-4000 CULTURE BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $681.00 | $681.00 | $10.32–$599.28 | — |
| Tristar Skyline Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 769-2000 Culture, bacterial; blood, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates (includes anaerobic culture, if appropriate) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $820.60 | $820.60 | $10.32–$804.19 | — |
| Tristar Ashland City Medical Center Ashland City, TN · (615) 792-3030 CULTURE BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $892.58 | $892.58 | $10.32–$2,000.00 | — |
| Tristar Centennial Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 342-1000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $959.00 | $959.00 | $642.53 | — |
| Tristar Summit Medical Center Mt Juliet, TN · (615) 316-3000 CULTURE BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $971.00 | $971.00 | $10.32–$854.48 | — |
| Tristar Centennial Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 342-1000 CULTURE STEM CELLS File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,072.29 | $1,072.29 | $197.41–$1,072.29 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $13.42, median $149.21, highest $971.00 — a 72.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $79.82. 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 4 of 18 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 blood culture is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Blood culture explained.