Lab tests CPT 87070 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Macon, GA — inpatient

In Macon-Bibb County, GA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $39.50 to $84.60, with a median of $62.80. The lowest listed price is at Atrium Health Navicent Rehabilitation Hospital — $23.30 less than the median here. Across Georgia, the median is $82.46 at 90 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 19, 2025 and Jul 1, 2026.

Lowest$39.50Atrium Health Navicent Rehabilitation Hospital
Median$62.80half of hospitals charge less
Highest$84.60in this market
Difference2.1×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 Macon-Bibb County, GA.

median
Lowest $39.50Highest $150.00

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Atrium Health Navicent Rehabilitation Hospital lowest Macon, GA HC CULTURE OTHER SOURCE File of Nov 19, 2025 · source file $39.50 $79.00 $40.29–$73.47 50%
Atrium Health Navicent the Medical Center Macon, GA · (478) 633-1000 HC CULTURE OTHER SOURCE File of Nov 19, 2025 · source file $41.00 $82.00 $41.82–$76.26 50%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerob Presump ID Cath Tip File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $84.60 $282.00 $0.01–$253.80 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerob Presump ID Cath Tip File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $84.60 $282.00 $0.01–$253.80 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerobic Presump ID Eye File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $100.60 $335.35 $0.01–$301.82 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerobic Presump ID Eye File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $100.60 $335.35 $0.01–$301.82 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerobic Other Pres ID File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $105.45 $351.50 $0.01–$316.35 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerobic Other Pres ID File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $105.45 $351.50 $0.01–$316.35 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerob Presump ID Wound File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $108.87 $362.90 $0.01–$326.61 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerob Presump ID Wound File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $108.87 $362.90 $0.01–$326.61 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerobic Presump ID Bf File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $109.72 $365.75 $0.01–$329.18 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerobic Presump ID Bf File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $109.72 $365.75 $0.01–$329.18 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerob Presump ID Tissue File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $113.14 $377.15 $0.01–$339.44 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerob Presump ID Tissue File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $113.14 $377.15 $0.01–$339.44 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aerobic Presump ID Cornea File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $114.60 $382.00 $0.01–$343.80 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aerobic Presump ID Cornea File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $114.60 $382.00 $0.01–$343.80 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Cult Aero Presump ID Drainage File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $119.10 $397.00 $0.01–$357.30 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Cult Aero Presump ID Drainage File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $119.10 $397.00 $0.01–$357.30 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Culture Genital File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $130.80 $436.00 $0.01–$392.40 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Culture Genital File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $130.80 $436.00 $0.01–$392.40 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Culture CSF File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $131.10 $437.00 $0.01–$393.30 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Culture CSF File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $131.10 $437.00 $0.01–$393.30 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Culture Sputum File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $134.40 $448.00 $0.01–$403.20 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Culture Sputum File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $134.40 $448.00 $0.01–$403.20 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Culture Bronchial File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $138.79 $462.65 $0.01–$416.39 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Culture Bronchial File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $138.79 $462.65 $0.01–$416.39 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Culture Respiratory File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $143.92 $479.75 $0.01–$431.78 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Culture Respiratory File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $143.92 $479.75 $0.01–$431.78 70%
Piedmont Macon Macon, GA · (478) 765-7000 HC Culture Bone Marrow. File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $150.00 $500.00 $0.01–$450.00 70%
Piedmont Macon North Macon, GA · (478) 757-5990 HC Culture Bone Marrow. File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file $150.00 $500.00 $0.01–$450.00 70%
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.
Check the item The description in the hospital file looks like a supply or device (a catheter, a brace, an implant), not this procedure. The hospital may have filed it under the wrong code: ask before relying on this price.

Inpatient: lowest $39.50, median $62.80, highest $84.60 — a 2.1× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $41.00 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 4 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 2 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.