Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Brownsville, TX
In Brownsville-Harlingen, TX, 1 hospital lists a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $18.12 to $18.12, with a median of $18.12. Across Texas, the median is $69.48 at 296 hospitals.
Cash prices at 1 facility 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 Sep 1, 2026 and Sep 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 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Regional Medical Center lowest Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULT ENVIRON EPIDEMI | $18.12 | $18.12 | $1.27–$15.40 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULT THROAT | $1,264.31 | $1,264.31 | $88.50–$1,074.66 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE ABSCESS | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE CSF | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE CATHETER TIP | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE GENITAL | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE EAR | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE SPUTUM | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE TISSUE | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE BODY FLUID | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE BRONCH WASH | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE PLACENTA | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULT NASOPHARYNGEAL | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Regional Medical Center Brownsville, TX · (956) 350-7000 CULTURE EYE | $1,489.37 | $1,489.37 | $104.26–$1,265.96 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $18.12, median $18.12, highest $18.12.
Cash or insurance?
At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87070 ($91.20). 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.
| Harlingen Medical Center Harlingen, TXCULTURE,ROUTINE | $8.00 | file |