Lab tests CPT 87070 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Madison, WI — inpatient

In Madison, WI, 2 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $77.35 to $114.76, with a median of $96.06. The lowest listed price is at Aspirus Divine Savior Hospital — $18.71 less than the median here. Across Wisconsin, the median is $77.35 at 98 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 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 Jan 28, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.

Lowest$77.35Aspirus Divine Savior Hospital

Median$96.06half of hospitals charge less

Highest$114.76in this market

Difference1.5×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 Madison, WI.

median

Lowest $77.35Highest $114.76

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Aspirus Divine Savior Hospital lowest Portage, WI · (608) 742-4131 Culture, Aerobic - Routine . Beaker1+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$77.35	$119.00	—	35%
UnityPoint Health - Meriter Madison, WI · (608) 417-6210 HC BACTERIAL CULTURE - OTHR SOURCE File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file	$114.76	$143.45	$32.99–$136.28	20%

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.

Inpatient: lowest $77.35, median $96.06, highest $114.76 — a 1.5× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $94.05 — 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 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.