Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Huntsville, AL
In Huntsville, AL, 4 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $26.30 to $96.00, with a median of $44.57. The lowest listed price is at Huntsville Hospital and 1 other hospital — $18.27 less than the median here. Across Alabama, the median is $76.99 at 45 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 Jan 1, 2026 and Jan 1, 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 Huntsville, AL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville Hospital lowest Madison, AL ALLOPURINOL INJ 1 MG source file | $26.30 | $26.30 | $4.40–$17.10 | — |
| Huntsville Hospital lowest Huntsville, AL · (256) 265-1000 ALLOPURINOL INJ 1 MG source file | $26.30 | $26.30 | $4.40–$17.10 | — |
| Crestwood Medical Center Huntsville, AL · (256) 429-4000 CULTURE BACTERIA OTH File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $62.84 | $349.11 | $5.60–$296.74 | 82% |
| Athens Limestone Hospital Athens, AL · (256) 233-9292 CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC source file | $96.00 | $96.00 | $6.47–$76.80 | — |
| Huntsville Hospital Huntsville, AL · (256) 265-1000 CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC source file | $112.50 | $112.50 | $6.47–$73.13 | — |
| Huntsville Hospital Madison, AL CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC source file | $112.50 | $112.50 | $6.47–$73.13 | — |
| Huntsville Hospital Huntsville, AL · (256) 265-1000 LAB-AEROBIC CULT (EXCEPT URINE source file | $149.50 | $149.50 | $6.47–$97.18 | — |
| Huntsville Hospital Madison, AL LAB-AEROBIC CULT (EXCEPT URINE source file | $149.50 | $149.50 | $6.47–$97.18 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $26.30, median $44.57, highest $96.00 — a 3.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $49.81. 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 1 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.