Lab tests CPT 87070 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Erie, PA — inpatient

In Erie, PA, 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 $63.96 to $105.00, with a median of $84.48. The lowest listed price is at Saint Vincent Health Center — $20.52 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $61.20 at 91 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Oct 1, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Apr 14, 2026.

Lowest$63.96Saint Vincent Health Center

Median$84.48half of hospitals charge less

Highest$105.00in this market

Difference1.6×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Erie, PA.

median

Lowest $63.96Highest $105.00

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Saint Vincent Health Center lowest Erie, PA · (814) 452-5111 HC CULT AERBC OTHR PRESUM ID File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file	$63.96	$78.00	$5.69–$10.36	18%
UPMC Hamot Erie, PA · (814) 877-6000 CULTURE AEROBIC+15 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file	$105.00	$175.00	$47.25–$140.00	40%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $63.96, median $84.48, highest $105.00 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $84.48 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 1 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.