Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Columbus, MS — inpatient
In Columbus, MS, 2 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $61.50 to $149.00, with a median of $105.25. The lowest listed price is at Noxubee General Hospital — $43.75 less than the median here. Across Mississippi, the median is $53.04 at 53 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 27, 2026 and Feb 27, 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 Columbus, MS.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noxubee General Hospital lowest Macon, MS · (662) 726-4231 GENITAL CULTURE, ROUTINE (008334) source file | $61.50 | $82.00 | $61.50–$82.00 | 25% |
| Noxubee General Hospital Macon, MS · (662) 726-4231 CULTURE AEROBIC; NOT URINE,BLOOD,STOOL+1 more line at this price source file | $63.00 | $84.00 | $63.00–$84.00 | 25% |
| Noxubee General Hospital Macon, MS · (662) 726-4231 CSF CULTURE (180802) source file | $81.75 | $109.00 | $81.75–$109.00 | 25% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle Columbus, MS · (662) 244-1000 CULTURE AEROBIC SOURCE OTHER THAN BLOOD/URINE/STOOL File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $149.00 | $596.00 | $226.48–$536.40 | 75% |
Inpatient: lowest $61.50, median $105.25, highest $149.00 — a 2.4× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $105.25 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
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 1 it is 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.