Blood culture cost in Philadelphia, PA
In Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 24 hospitals list a cash price for blood culture for bacteria: from $19.50 to $694.98, with a median of $84.80. The lowest listed price is at Virtua Willingboro Hospital and 4 other hospitals — $65.30 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $84.80 at 99 hospitals.
- The median here, $84.80, is 27% below the US median of $115.50.
- That is 8.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($10.32).
- Philadelphia, PA ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Pennsylvania by median, cheapest first.
- 8 of 24 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 24 facilities across 20 cities for code 87040, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 26, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 31, 2025 and Sep 21, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtua Willingboro Hospital lowest Willinboro, NJ · (609) 835-2900 HC Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% |
| Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes lowest Camden, NJ · (856) 886-5373 HC Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% |
| Virtua Memorial Hospital lowest Mount Holly, NJ · (609) 267-0700 HC Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% |
| Virtua West Jersey Hospital - Voorhees lowest Voorhees, NJ · (856) 247-3000 HC Blood Culture+1 more line at this price File of Jun 1, 2026 · source file | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% |
| Virtua West Jersey Hospital - Marlton lowest Voorhees, NJ · (856) 247-3000 HC Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% |
| Inspira Medical Center Elmer Elmer, NJ · (856) 363-1000 BLOOD CULTURE File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $35.00 | $35.00 | $7.08–$47.48 | — |
| Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill Mullica Hill, NJ · (856) 363-1000 BLOOD CULTURE File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $35.00 | $35.00 | $7.08–$47.48 | — |
| Inspira Health Center Woodbury Woodbury, NJ BLOOD CULTURE File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $35.00 | $35.00 | $6.69–$47.48 | — |
| Inspira Medical Center Mannington Salem, NJ BLOOD CULTURE File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $35.00 | $35.00 | $5.90–$47.48 | — |
| Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center Meadowbrook, PA · (215) 947-3000 Culture Blood File of Sep 21, 2026 · source file | $65.84 | $109.73 | $10.32–$46.22 | 40% |
| Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center Meadowbrook, PA · (215) 947-3000 Blood Culture (Non-Patient, Charge) 40100430 File of Sep 21, 2026 · source file | $74.07 | $123.45 | $10.32–$46.22 | 40% |
| Riddle Memorial Hospital Media, PA · (610) 566-9400 Hc Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% |
| The Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr, PA · (610) 526-3000 Hc Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% |
| Paoli Hospital Paoli, PA · (610) 648-1000 Hc Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% |
| Lankenau Medical Center Wynnewood, PA · (610) 645-2000 Hc Blood Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% |
| Shriners Childrens - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · (215) 430-4000 BLOOD CULTURE FOR BACTERIA File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $91.20 | $91.20 | $9.18–$21.94 | — |
| Union Hospital of Cecil County Elkton, MD · (410) 392-7009 CULTURE,BLOOD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $96.19 | $96.19 | — | — |
| St Mary Medical Center Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $105.30 | $162.00 | $10.32–$153.90 | 35% |
| Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA · (215) 335-6000 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $155.35 | $239.00 | $10.32–$473.55 | 35% |
| Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital Darby, PA · (215) 237-4000 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $191.10 | $294.00 | $10.29–$294.00 | 35% |
| Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital Darby, PA · (215) 237-4000 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $202.80 | — | $10.29–$163.09 | — |
| St. Francis Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 421-4100 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $203.45 | $313.00 | $10.11–$300.48 | 35% |
| St Mary Medical Center Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $384.80 | — | $32.20–$3,742.00 | — |
| Union Hospital of Cecil County Elkton, MD · (410) 392-7009 CULTURE,BLOOD,ISOLATOR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $431.23 | $431.23 | — | — |
| St Luke's Hospital - Upper Bucks Campus Quakertown, PA · (267) 985-1000 HB BLOOD CULTURE FOR BACTERIA File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $450.90 | $501.00 | $10.32–$414.93 | 10% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Grand View Campus Sellersville, PA · (215) 453-4000 HB BLOOD CULTURE FOR BACTERIA File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $450.90 | $501.00 | $10.32–$1,610.00 | 10% |
| Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Culture Bacterial,Blood or Bm+3 more lines at this price File of Mar 10, 2026 · source file | $468.00 | $468.00 | — | — |
| The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · (215) 590-1000 Cult-Blood+1 more line at this price File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file | $694.98 | $694.98 | $18.90–$625.48 | — |
| St. Francis Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 421-4100 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $1,686.75 | — | $10.11–$172.78 | — |
| Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA · (215) 335-6000 HC Culture Blood File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $2,019.55 | — | $10.32–$473.55 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $19.50, median $84.80, highest $694.98 — a 35.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 17 facilities here, median $84.80. 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 14 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.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87040 ($120.61). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PAHc Blood Culture For Bacteria | $10.00 | file |
| Lower Bucks Hospital Bristol, PAHc Blood Culture For Bacteria | $10.00 | file |