Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Allentown, PA — inpatient
In Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ, 9 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $9.91 to $370.80, with a median of $216.63. The lowest listed price is at Hackettstown Medical Center — $206.72 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $61.70 at 94 hospitals.
Cash prices at 9 facilities across 6 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 26, 2026 and Feb 27, 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackettstown Medical Center lowest Hackettstown, NJ · (908) 852-5100 Culture Bact Aerobic Respiratory+4 more lines at this price source file | $9.91 | $461.00 | — | 98% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Bethlehem Campus Bethlehem, PA · (484) 526-4000 HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Easton Campus Easton, PA · (610) 250-4076 HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Lehighton Campus Lehighton, PA HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Allentown Campus Allentown, PA HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Anderson Campus Easton, PA HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus Lehighton, PA · (610) 377-7001 HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Hospital - Sacred Heart Campus Allentown, PA HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $216.63 | $261.00 | $67.73–$73.39 | 17% |
| St Luke's Warren Hospital Phillipsburg, NJ · (908) 847-6700 HB CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $370.80 | $412.00 | $107.12–$115.85 | 10% |
Inpatient: lowest $9.91, median $216.63, highest $370.80 — a 37.4× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 9 facilities here, median $216.63 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 of 8 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 bacterial culture grows bacteria from a sample such as a wound, throat swab, eye or fluid to find which germ causes an infection. It takes one to three days.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test; collecting the sample may be billed separately.