Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Altoona, PA — inpatient
In Altoona, PA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $23.00 to $108.00, with a median of $65.50. The lowest listed price is at Penn Highlands Tyrone — $42.50 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $61.20 at 91 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 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 Altoona, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Highlands Tyrone lowest Tyrone, PA · (814) 684-1255 RHC CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $23.00 | $23.00 | — | — |
| Penn Highlands Tyrone Tyrone, PA · (814) 684-1255 Wound Culture+13 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $84.00 | $84.00 | — | — |
| UPMC Altoona Altoona, PA · (814) 889-2011 GENITAL CULTURE+3 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $108.00 | $180.00 | $6.90–$144.00 | 40% |
Inpatient: lowest $23.00, median $65.50, highest $108.00 — a 4.7× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $65.50 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.