Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Lancaster, PA
In Lancaster, PA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $16.23 to $48.00, with a median of $36.00. The lowest listed price is at Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center — $19.77 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $61.20 at 93 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 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 — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Lancaster, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Body Fluid. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Cerebrospinal Fluid. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Catheter Tip. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Bronch Brush. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Bone. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Bone Marrow. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Inner Eye Culture-Quest Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Wound. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Tissue. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Surveillance. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Respiratory. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Respiratory w Smear, Cystic Fibrosis. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Nasal. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Intraoperative w Smear. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Genital. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Fluid, Automated (Blood Culture Bottles). Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Eye. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Environment. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Ear. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Drainage. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 87070 Culture Device w Smear. Tech | $16.23 | $56.00 | $7.33–$44.80 | 71% | — source file |
| Ephrata Community Hospital Ephrata, PA · (717) 733-0311 Bacterial Culture, Any Other Source Except Urine, Blood or Stool, Aerobic | $36.00 | $45.00 | $6.90–$39.53 | 20% | — source file |
| UPMC Lititz Lititz, PA · (717) 625-2000 HC CYSTIC RESP CULT | $48.00 | $80.00 | $6.90–$68.00 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Lititz Lititz, PA · (717) 625-2000 HC ROUTINE CULTURE | $48.00 | $80.00 | $6.90–$68.00 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Lititz Lititz, PA · (717) 625-2000 HC GENITAL CULTURE | $48.00 | $80.00 | $6.90–$68.00 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Lititz Lititz, PA · (717) 625-2000 HC LOWER RESPIRATORY CULTURE | $48.00 | $80.00 | $6.90–$68.00 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $16.23, median $36.00, highest $48.00 — a 3.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $36.00. 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 3 of 3 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.