Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Bakersfield, CA
In Bakersfield-Delano, CA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $12.96 to $124.80, with a median of $73.07. The lowest listed price is at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital — $60.11 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $133.00 at 189 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Sep 11, 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 Bakersfield-Delano, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital lowest Bakersfield, CA · (661) 327-1792 RL-A-MC NOC 60093 File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $12.96 | $35.31 | $8.62–$35.31 | 63% |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 RL-A-MC NOC 60093 File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $13.11 | $35.31 | $8.62–$35.31 | 63% |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 BM-CULT GASTRIC File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $60.85 | $164.00 | $8.62–$164.00 | 63% |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 327-1792 CULT RESPIRATORY File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $72.30 | $197.00 | $8.62–$177.30 | 63% |
| Kern Valley Healthcare District Mountain Mesa, CA · (760) 379-2681 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic File of Jun 11, 2026 · source file | $73.07 | $347.97 | $9.88–$347.97 | 79% |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 CULT RESPIRATORY File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $73.09 | $197.00 | $8.62–$178.03 | 63% |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 327-1792 SJM-CULT CATHETER TIP File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $97.26 | $265.00 | $8.62–$238.50 | 63% |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 SJM-CULT CSF File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $98.32 | $265.00 | $8.62–$212.00 | 63% |
| Good Samaritan Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 215-7500 CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC source file | $107.10 | $153.00 | $7.51–$126.00 | 30% |
| Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Ridgecrest, CA · (760) 446-3551 Culture any other source+1 more line at this price File of Sep 11, 2026 · source file | $124.80 | $235.48 | — | 47% |
| Good Samaritan Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 215-7500 BACTERIAL CULTURE; ANY OTHER SOURCE EXCEPT URINE; BLOOD OR STOOL; AEROBIC source file | $151.62 | $216.60 | $7.51–$126.00 | 30% |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 BM-CULT GENITAL File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $184.02 | $496.00 | $8.62–$396.80 | 63% |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 327-1792 CULT BONE MARROW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $221.31 | $603.00 | $8.62–$542.70 | 63% |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 CULT BONE MARROW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $223.72 | $603.00 | $8.62–$482.40 | 63% |
Outpatient: lowest $12.96, median $73.07, highest $124.80 — a 9.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $13.11. 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 4 of 4 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.
4 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87070 ($87.75). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CARL-A-MC HPYL 2006686A | $7.55 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CARL-A-MC HPYL 2006686A | $7.64 | file |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CASJM-CULT BODY FLUID | $8.08 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CASJM-CULT BODY FLUID | $8.17 | file |