Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Clarksville, TN
In Clarksville, TN-KY, 2 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $49.93 to $70.86, with a median of $60.40. The lowest listed price is at Jennie Stuart Medical Center — $10.47 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $40.20 at 88 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 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 Jan 1, 2026 and Feb 12, 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 Clarksville, TN-KY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center lowest Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE BORDETELLA PERTUSSIS REF | $49.93 | $161.04 | $7.93–$153.39 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE EYE | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE BODY FLUID | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE IV CATH TIP | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE CSF | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE WOUND | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE ROUTINE REF | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE EAR | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Jennie Stuart Medical Center Hopkinsville, KY · (270) 887-0100 HC CULTURE TISSUE | $53.01 | $171.00 | $7.93–$162.88 | 69% | Feb 12, 2026 source file |
| Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital Clarksville, TN · (931) 502-1000 CULTURE BACTERIA OTH | $70.86 | $365.22 | $3.62–$346.96 | 81% | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $49.93, median $60.40, highest $70.86 — a 1.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $60.40. 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 2 of 2 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.