Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Lima, OH — inpatient
In Lima, OH, 3 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $10.80 to $87.00, with a median of $74.40. The lowest listed price is at Lima Memorial Health System — $63.60 less than the median here. Across Ohio, the median is $67.75 at 130 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 5, 2025 and Apr 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 Lima, OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima Memorial Health System lowest Lima, OH · (419) 998-4731 Culture Othr Specimn Aerobic File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.80 | $12.00 | — | 10% |
| Lima Memorial Health System Lima, OH · (419) 998-4731 Culture,Routine File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $18.00 | $20.00 | — | 10% |
| Lima Memorial Health System Lima, OH · (419) 998-4731 Culture,Bact Any Other Source File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $54.90 | $61.00 | — | 10% |
| Mercy Health St Ritas Medical Center Lima, OH · (419) 227-3361 HC So Body Fluid Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $74.40 | $124.00 | — | 40% |
| Mercy Health St Ritas Medical Center Lima, OH · (419) 227-3361 HC Culture, Aerobic File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $86.40 | $144.00 | — | 40% |
| Bluffton Hospital Bluffton, OH · (419) 358-9010 Culture Tissue+5 more lines at this price File of Nov 5, 2025 · source file | $87.00 | $87.00 | $8.45–$82.56 | — |
| Lima Memorial Health System Lima, OH · (419) 998-4731 Environmental Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $134.10 | $149.00 | — | 10% |
Inpatient: lowest $10.80, median $74.40, highest $87.00 — a 8.1× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $74.40 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.