Bacterial culture (wound) cost in College Station, TX
In College Station-Bryan, TX, 4 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $35.06 to $69.48, with a median of $69.48. The lowest listed price is at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station — $34.42 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $67.00 at 270 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 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 Jun 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 College Station-Bryan, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station lowest College Station, TX · (979) 691-3701 HC REF ARUP COMP 2006686 CPT 87070 File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $35.06 | $58.44 | $7.75–$54.39 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station College Station, TX · (979) 691-3701 HC REF SYNOVASURE, COMP PJII, CPT 87070 File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $43.16 | $71.94 | $7.75–$64.75 | 40% |
| CHI St. Joseph Health - College Station Hospital College Station, TX · (979) 776-3912 BODY FLUID CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $69.48 | $397.00 | $7.24–$337.45 | 82% |
| Burleson St. Joseph Health Center of Caldwell, Texas Caldwell, TX · (979) 567-3245 BODY FLUID CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $69.48 | $397.00 | $7.76–$357.30 | 82% |
| CHI St Joseph Health Regional Hospital Bryan, TX · (979) 776-3912 BODY FLUID CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $69.48 | $397.00 | $7.24–$337.45 | 82% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station College Station, TX · (979) 691-3701 HC CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC - EYE+9 more lines at this price File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $145.35 | $242.25 | $7.75–$218.03 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $35.06, median $69.48, highest $69.48 — a 2.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $69.48. 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.