Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Louisville, KY — inpatient
In Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN, 14 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $38.50 to $154.20, with a median of $102.45. The lowest listed price is at Norton Clark Hospital — $63.95 less than the median here. Across Kentucky, the median is $103.20 at 77 hospitals.
Cash prices at 14 facilities across 7 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 11, 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 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton Clark Hospital lowest Jeffersonville, IN · (812) 283-2147 HB CULTURE WOUND+13 more lines at this price File of Jun 3, 2026 · source file | $38.50 | $275.00 | $118.31–$240.63 | 86% |
| CHI Saint Joseph Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown, KY · (502) 350-5000 HC LAB CULTURE UPPER RESPIRATORY File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $67.47 | $159.00 | $116.07–$144.69 | 58% |
| UofL Health -Shelbyville Shelbyville, KY · (502) 647-4000 CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER 1 source file | $76.00 | $200.00 | $71.10–$200.00 | 62% |
| Cobalt Rehabilitation Hospital Louisville Clarksville, IN Body Fluid Culture+1 more line at this price File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $86.20 | $86.20 | $60.34–$73.27 | — |
| Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER 1 source file | $90.36 | $251.00 | $75.30–$251.00 | 64% |
| CHI Saint Joseph Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown, KY · (502) 350-5000 HC LAB CULT-BACT OTH SOURCE File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $96.74 | $228.00 | $166.44–$207.48 | 58% |
| UofL Health - Jewish Hospital and Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 587-4011 CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER 1 source file | $101.25 | $225.00 | $79.99–$225.00 | 55% |
| UofL Health-Louisville – South Hospital Shepherdville, KY CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER 1 source file | $101.70 | $226.00 | $67.80–$226.00 | 55% |
| Norton Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB CULTURE AEROBIC+16 more lines at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $103.20 | $516.00 | $85.14–$438.60 | 80% |
| Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB CULTURE ROUTINE+16 more lines at this price File of Feb 13, 2026 · source file | $103.20 | $516.00 | $85.14–$475.75 | 80% |
| Norton West Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY HB CULTURE ROUTINE+16 more lines at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $103.20 | $516.00 | $85.14–$475.75 | 80% |
| Norton Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB CULTURE ROUTINE+16 more lines at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $103.20 | $516.00 | $85.14–$475.75 | 80% |
| Norton Brownsboro Hospital Louisville, KY HB CULTURE AEROBIC - EAR W/GS+16 more lines at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $103.20 | $516.00 | $85.14–$475.75 | 80% |
| University of Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 562-3000 CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER 1 source file | $144.96 | $604.00 | $166.82–$604.00 | 76% |
| St. Vincent Salem Hospital Salem, IN · (812) 883-5881 #CULT BACT OTH SRC;AER source file | $154.20 | $257.00 | $2.65–$19.65 | 40% |
| St. Vincent Salem Hospital Salem, IN · (812) 883-5881 CULT BACT OTHSRC EX URN/BLD/ST source file | $184.80 | $308.00 | $2.65–$19.65 | 40% |
| Cobalt Rehabilitation Hospital Louisville Clarksville, IN Aerobic culture+1 more line at this price File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $204.75 | $204.75 | $143.33–$174.04 | — |
Inpatient: lowest $38.50, median $102.45, highest $154.20 — a 4.0× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 18 facilities here, median $103.20 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 12 of 14 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.