Blood culture cost in Portland, ME
In Portland-South Portland, ME, 6 hospitals list a cash price for blood culture for bacteria: from $48.88 to $399.85, with a median of $172.43. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Hospital — $123.55 less than the median here. Across Maine, the median is $87.61 at 20 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 5 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 Sep 9, 2025 and Apr 29, 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 Portland-South Portland, ME.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospital lowest Portland, ME AEROBIC BACTERIA CULTURE BLD | $48.88 | $188.00 | $100.39–$143.26 | 74% | — source file |
| Bridgton Hospital Bridgton, ME · (207) 647-6000 HC BLOOD CULTURE FOR BACTERIA | $77.00 | $250.31 | $10.32–$227.03 | 69% | Apr 29, 2026 source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 CULTURE, BLOOD | $146.40 | $244.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Biddeford, ME HC CULTURE AEROW/ID ISOLATES | $198.45 | $198.45 | $10.32–$186.54 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 B* HC CULTURE BACTERIAL BLOOD AEROBIC W/ID ISOLATES | $215.10 | $215.10 | $10.32–$202.19 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Brunswick, ME · (207) 729-0181 HC CULTURE AEROW/ID ISOLATES | $399.85 | $399.85 | $10.32–$377.46 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $48.88, median $172.43, highest $399.85 — a 8.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $198.45. 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 2 of 5 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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.