Lab tests CPT 87070 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Kansas City, MO — inpatient

In Kansas City, MO-KS, 10 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $15.52 to $269.03, with a median of $65.25. The lowest listed price is at Ascentist Hospital — $49.73 less than the median here. Across Missouri, the median is $68.30 at 64 hospitals.

Cash prices at 10 facilities across 8 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Aug 6, 2026.

Lowest$15.52Ascentist Hospital
Median$65.25half of hospitals charge less
Highest$269.03in this market
Difference17.3×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 Kansas City, MO-KS.

median
Lowest $15.52Highest $520.91

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Ascentist Hospital lowest Leawood, KS · (913) 529-1801 AEROBIC BACTERIAL CX, GENERAL source file $15.52 $50.00 $14.31–$18.53 69%
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas Overland Park, KS · (913) 696-8000 HC CULTURE BACTERIAL KU source file $37.44 $78.00 $37.44–$70.20 52%
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City, MO · (816) 234-3000 HC CULTURE BACTERIAL KU source file $37.44 $78.00 $37.44–$70.20 52%
NKC Health North Kansas City, MO · (816) 691-2000 87070 Unusual Organism Culture ARUP File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file $43.50 $150.00 $90.00–$122.70 71%
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas Overland Park, KS · (913) 696-8000 CULTURE/BACT CSF+5 more lines at this price source file $49.92 $104.00 $49.92–$93.60 52%
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City, MO · (816) 234-3000 CULTURE/BACT UROGENITAL+5 more lines at this price source file $49.92 $104.00 $49.92–$93.60 52%
Liberty Hospital Liberty, MO · (816) 781-7200 GENITAL CULTURE +1 more line at this price source file $51.00 $186.00 $51.89–$151.78 73%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 CULTURE TISSUE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $79.50 $113.57 $96.53 30%
NKC Health North Kansas City, MO · (816) 691-2000 BACTERIAL CULTURE WOUND+21 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file $81.20 $280.00 $168.00–$229.04 71%
Rehabilitation Hospital of Overland Park Overland Park, KS Body Fluid Culture+1 more line at this price File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file $86.20 $86.20 $51.72–$77.58 —
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 THROAT CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $118.12 $168.73 $143.42 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 EYE CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $136.53 $195.03 $165.78 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 BONE MARROW TISSUE CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $148.40 $211.99 $180.19 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 WOUND/LESION CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $164.30 $234.71 $199.50 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 CSF CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $172.62 $246.60 $209.61 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 PNP CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $192.95 $275.63 $234.29 30%
Cass Regional Medical Center Harrisonville, MO · (816) 380-5888 87070 CULT OTR SPECMN AEROBIC+3 more lines at this price File of Apr 7, 2026 · source file $198.80 $284.00 $36.92–$275.20 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 SPUTUM CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $214.27 $306.09 $260.18 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 NASAL CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $217.33 $310.46 $263.89 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 BODY FLUID CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $236.23 $337.46 $286.84 30%
Bates County Memorial Hospital Butler, MO · (660) 200-7000 URO-GENITAL CULTURE File of Apr 20, 2026 · source file $237.74 $339.62 $288.68 30%
AdventHealth South Overland Park Overland Park, KS · (913) 373-2000 HC CSF CULTURE WITH GRAM STAIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $269.03 $269.03 — —
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission Shawnee Mission, KS · (913) 676-2152 HC CSF CULTURE WITH GRAM STAIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $269.03 $269.03 — —
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City, MO · (816) 234-3000 HC HPC PROC MICRO KU source file $295.68 $616.00 $295.68–$554.40 52%
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas Overland Park, KS · (913) 696-8000 HC HPC PROC MICRO KU source file $295.68 $616.00 $295.68–$554.40 52%
Rehabilitation Hospital of Overland Park Overland Park, KS Aerobic culture File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file $303.80 $303.80 $182.28–$273.42 —
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission Shawnee Mission, KS · (913) 676-2152 HC MICROBIOLOGY - CULTURE AEROBIC+9 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $513.18 $513.18 — —
AdventHealth South Overland Park Overland Park, KS · (913) 373-2000 HC GENITAL CULTURE+9 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $513.18 $513.18 — —
AdventHealth South Overland Park Overland Park, KS · (913) 373-2000 HC SPUTUM CULTURE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $520.91 $520.91 — —
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission Shawnee Mission, KS · (913) 676-2152 HC SPUTUM CULTURE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $520.91 $520.91 — —
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.
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

Inpatient: lowest $15.52, median $65.25, highest $269.03 — a 17.3× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 18 facilities here, median $140.12 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 7 of 8 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 3 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.