Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Boise City, ID
In Boise City, ID, 7 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $21.56 to $100.70, with a median of $38.00. The lowest listed price is at Treasure Valley Hospital — $16.44 less than the median here. Across Idaho, the median is $58.88 at 30 hospitals.
Cash prices at 7 facilities across 4 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 25, 2026 and Sep 2, 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 Boise City, ID.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasure Valley Hospital lowest Boise, ID · (208) 373-5000 Culture, Aerobic & Anaerobic w/ Gram Stain+1 more line at this price File of Sep 2, 2026 · source file | $21.56 | $125.00 | $8.62–$125.00 | 83% |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULT ENVIRON EPIDEMI File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $25.79 | $25.79 | $8.23–$24.50 | — |
| St Luke's Nampa Medical Center Nampa, ID · (208) 505-2000 File of Mar 25, 2026 · source file | $38.00 | $38.00 | — | — |
| St Luke's Regional Medical Center Boise, ID · (208) 381-2222 File of Mar 25, 2026 · source file | $38.00 | $38.00 | — | — |
| Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise Boise, ID · (208) 367-2121 HC Culture Bacterial Other Source File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $58.50 | $90.00 | $7.45–$90.00 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa Nampa, ID · (208) 463-5000 HC Culture Bacterial Other Source File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $58.50 | $90.00 | $7.45–$81.00 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa Nampa, ID · (208) 463-5000 HC Culture Nasal+8 more lines at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $65.65 | $101.00 | $7.45–$90.90 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise Boise, ID · (208) 367-2121 HC Culture Tissue+9 more lines at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $65.65 | $101.00 | $7.45–$101.00 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa Nampa, ID · (208) 463-5000 HC Culture Body Fluid File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $66.30 | $102.00 | $7.45–$91.80 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise Boise, ID · (208) 367-2121 HC Culture Body Fluid File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $66.30 | $102.00 | $7.45–$102.00 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa Nampa, ID · (208) 463-5000 HC Culture Respiratory+1 more line at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $69.55 | $107.00 | $7.45–$96.30 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise Boise, ID · (208) 367-2121 HC Culture Respiratory+1 more line at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $69.55 | $107.00 | $7.45–$107.00 | 35% |
| Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise Boise, ID · (208) 367-2121 HC Culture Wound File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $97.50 | — | $7.45–$51.17 | — |
| Valor Health Emmett, ID · (208) 365-3561 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $100.70 | $106.00 | $9.14–$103.88 | 5% |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULTURE EYE+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $153.03 | $153.03 | $48.82–$145.38 | — |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULTURE SPUTUM File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $184.03 | $184.03 | $58.71–$174.83 | — |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULTURE CSF File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $216.38 | $216.38 | $69.03–$205.56 | — |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULTURE TISSUE File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $387.95 | $387.95 | $123.76–$368.55 | — |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULT THROAT File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $401.73 | $401.73 | $128.15–$381.64 | — |
| West Valley Medical Center Caldwell, ID · (208) 459-4641 CULTURE ABSCESS+7 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $417.95 | $417.95 | $133.33–$397.05 | — |
| Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa Nampa, ID · (208) 463-5000 HC Culture Wound File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $524.55 | — | $7.45–$571.93 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $21.56, median $38.00, highest $100.70 — a 4.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $58.50. 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 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 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.