Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Harrisburg, PA — inpatient
In Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, 7 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $9.61 to $86.20, with a median of $18.55. The lowest listed price is at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute — $8.94 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $61.70 at 94 hospitals.
Cash prices at 7 facilities across 5 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Aug 6, 2026 and Aug 6, 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute lowest Harrisburg, PA · (717) 782-4742 87070 Culture Wound. Tech+20 more lines at this price source file | $9.61 | $56.00 | $21.10–$44.80 | 83% |
| Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center Camp Hill, PA · (717) 763-2100 87070 Culture Tissue. Tech+20 more lines at this price source file | $13.38 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 76% |
| Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center Enola, PA · (717) 981-9000 87070 Culture Intraoperative w Smear. Tech+20 more lines at this price source file | $17.62 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 69% |
| Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, PA · (717) 531-8521 Culture Bone Marrow.+17 more lines at this price source file | $18.55 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 67% |
| UPMC Pinnacle Hospitals Harrisburg, PA · (717) 782-3131 HC NP/THROAT/WOUND CULTURE+4 more lines at this price source file | $48.00 | $80.00 | $52.00–$68.00 | 40% |
| UPMC Carlisle Carlisle, PA · (717) 249-1212 HC CYSTIC RESP CULT+3 more lines at this price source file | $48.00 | $80.00 | $32.64–$68.00 | 40% |
| PAM Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Hampden Enola, PA Sputum Culture+1 more line at this price File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $86.20 | $86.20 | $64.65 | — |
| PAM Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Hampden Enola, PA Aerobic culture File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $316.10 | $316.10 | $237.08 | — |
| PAM Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Hampden Enola, PA Culture, Wound Aerobic File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $345.05 | $345.05 | $258.79 | — |
Inpatient: lowest $9.61, median $18.55, highest $86.20 — a 9.0× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $18.55 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 6 of 7 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 2 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.