Blood culture cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 22 hospitals list a cash price for blood culture for bacteria: from $15.60 to $783.60, with a median of $71.94. The lowest listed price is at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital and 2 other hospitals — $56.34 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $84.80 at 99 hospitals.
- The median here, $71.94, is 38% below the US median of $115.50.
- That is 7.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($10.32).
- Pittsburgh, PA has the lowest median of 2 metro areas in Pennsylvania with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 22 facilities across 15 cities for code 87040, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 10, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 17, 2025 and Oct 28, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excela Health Latrobe Hospital lowest Latrobe, PA · (724) 832-4000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $15.60 | $26.00 | $9.60–$50.47 | 40% |
| Excela Health Westmoreland Regional Hospital lowest Greeensburg, PA · (724) 832-4000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $15.60 | $26.00 | $9.60–$102.00 | 40% |
| Excela Health - Frick Hospital lowest Mt Plesant, PA · (724) 547-1500 BLOOD CULTURE, ADDITIONAL+1 more line at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $15.60 | $26.00 | $0.19–$427.20 | 40% |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 BLOOD CULTURE-E File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $32.80 | $46.85 | $7.22–$33.73 | 30% |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 BLOOD CULTURE FOR BACTERIA File of Jul 9, 2026 · source file | $33.00 | $66.00 | $9.75–$171.55 | 50% |
| Armstrong County Memorial Hospital Kittanning, PA BLOOD CULTURE File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $38.10 | $127.00 | $9.31–$127.00 | 70% |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 BACTERIAL BLOOD CULTURE File of Jul 9, 2026 · source file | $64.00 | $128.00 | $9.75–$171.55 | 50% |
| Allegheny Valley Hospital Natrona Heights, PA · (412) 224-5100 HC CULT BLOOD ISOL W ID File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $64.68 | $84.00 | $5.00–$26.05 | 23% |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $64.80 | $108.00 | $10.20–$95.04 | 40% |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 HC CULT BLOOD ISOL W ID File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $67.89 | $93.00 | $5.15–$34.16 | 27% |
| Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 359-3131 HC CULT BLOOD ISOL W ID File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $70.68 | $93.00 | $5.15–$34.49 | 24% |
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PA · (412) 469-5000 HC CULT BLOOD ISOL W ID File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $71.28 | $88.00 | $5.00–$25.14 | 19% |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 .CULT BLOOD SET #3+7 more lines at this price File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $72.60 | $121.00 | $40.78–$94.38 | 40% |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 BLOOD CULTURE File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $72.60 | $121.00 | $32.55–$148.29 | 40% |
| Butler Memorial Hospital Butler, PA Misc Microbiology File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $85.40 | $122.00 | $22.81–$128.10 | 30% |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $146.40 | $244.00 | $8.60–$219.60 | 40% |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $155.40 | $259.00 | $10.20–$207.20 | 40% |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 692-5325 CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $155.40 | $259.00 | $9.20–$233.10 | 40% |
| Butler Memorial Hospital Butler, PA Blood Culture 87040 File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $169.40 | $242.00 | $45.25–$254.10 | 30% |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $200.40 | $334.00 | $8.91–$283.90 | 40% |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $225.00 | $375.00 | $9.57–$318.75 | 40% |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC CULTURE BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $308.40 | $514.00 | $9.66–$472.88 | 40% |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC CULTURE BLOOD File of Mar 7, 2026 · source file | $322.20 | $537.00 | $9.59–$456.45 | 40% |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 BLOOD CULT TRANSFUSION RXN+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $783.60 | $1,306.00 | $10.20–$1,110.10 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $15.60, median $71.94, highest $783.60 — a 50.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 23 facilities here, median $72.60. 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 17 of 22 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.
3 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Surgical Hospital Washington, PACULTURE BLOOD | $10.32 | file |
| Advanced Surgical Hospital Washington, PACULTURE BLOOD BACT AEROBIC | $10.32 | file |
| Advanced Surgical Hospital Washington, PACULTURE BLOOD ROUTINE | $10.32 | file |