Blood culture cost in Philadelphia, PA
In Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 20 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 3 other hospitals — $65.30 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $84.80 at 62 hospitals.
Cash prices at 20 facilities across 17 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 Mar 24, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtua Willingboro Hospital lowest Willinboro, NJ · (609) 835-2900 HC Blood Culture | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% | — source file |
| Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes lowest Camden, NJ · (856) 886-5373 HC Blood Culture | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% | — source file |
| West Jersey Hospital lowest Voorhees, NJ · (856) 247-3000 HC Blood Culture | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% | — source file |
| West Jersey Hospital lowest Voorhees, NJ · (856) 247-3000 HC Blood Culture | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% | — source file |
| Virtua Memorial Hospital lowest Mount Holly, NJ · (609) 267-0700 HC Blood Culture | $19.50 | $195.00 | $6.47–$131.12 | 90% | — source file |
| Inspira Medical Center Mannington Salem, NJ BLOOD CULTURE | $35.00 | $35.00 | $5.90–$47.48 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill Mullica Hill, NJ BLOOD CULTURE | $35.00 | $35.00 | $7.08–$47.48 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Inspira Health Center Woodbury Woodbury, NJ BLOOD CULTURE | $35.00 | $35.00 | $6.69–$47.48 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Inspira Medical Center Elmer Elmer, NJ · (856) 363-1000 BLOOD CULTURE | $35.00 | $35.00 | $7.08–$47.48 | — | Mar 24, 2026 source file |
| Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital Malvern, PA Hc Blood Culture | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% | — source file |
| Lankenau Medical Center Wynnewood, PA · (610) 645-2000 Hc Blood Culture | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Paoli Hospital Paoli, PA · (610) 648-1000 Hc Blood Culture | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Riddle Memorial Hospital Media, PA · (610) 566-9400 Hc Blood Culture | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| The Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr, PA · (610) 526-3000 Hc Blood Culture | $84.80 | $212.00 | — | 60% | — source file |
| Shriners Childrens - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · (215) 430-4000 BLOOD CULTURE FOR BACTERIA | $91.20 | $91.20 | $9.18–$21.94 | — | — source file |
| St Mary Medical Center Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 HC Culture Blood | $105.30 | $162.00 | $10.32–$153.90 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA · (215) 335-6000 HC Culture Blood | $155.35 | $239.00 | $10.32–$473.55 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital Darby, PA · (215) 237-4000 HC Culture Blood | $191.10 | $294.00 | $10.29–$294.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital Darby, PA · (215) 237-4000 HC Culture Blood | $202.80 | — | $10.29–$163.09 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| St. Francis Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 421-4100 HC Culture Blood | $203.45 | $313.00 | $10.11–$300.48 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| St Mary Medical Center Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 HC Culture Blood | $384.80 | — | $32.20–$3,742.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Nemours Children's Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Culture Bacterial,Blood or Bm | $468.00 | $468.00 | — | — | — source file |
| Nemours Children's Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Culture,Bact., Bld, Air/Ana | $468.00 | $468.00 | — | — | — source file |
| Nemours Children's Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Culture,Bact., Bld, Air/Ana | $468.00 | $468.00 | — | — | — source file |
| Nemours Children's Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Culture Bacterial,Blood or Bm | $468.00 | $468.00 | — | — | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · (215) 590-1000 Cult-Blood | $694.98 | $694.98 | $18.90–$625.48 | — | — source file |
| The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · (215) 590-1000 Culture, Blood- Hup | $694.98 | $694.98 | $18.90–$625.48 | — | — source file |
| St. Francis Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 421-4100 HC Culture Blood | $1,686.75 | — | $10.11–$172.78 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA · (215) 335-6000 HC Culture Blood | $2,019.55 | — | $10.32–$473.55 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
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 14 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 12 of 14 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 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.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87040 ($100.75). 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.
| Lower Bucks Hospital Bristol, PAHc Blood Culture For Bacteria | $10.00 | file |
| Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PAHc Blood Culture For Bacteria | $10.00 | file |
| Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PAHc Blood Culture For Bacteria | $10.00 | file |