Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Michigan City, IN — inpatient
In Michigan City-La Porte, IN, 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 $60.32 to $220.97, with a median of $60.32. The lowest listed price is at Franciscan Health Michigan City and 1 other hospital. Across Indiana, the median is $94.20 at 84 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 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 Michigan City-La Porte, IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franciscan Health Michigan City lowest Michigan City, IN · (219) 879-8511 Bacterial Culture - Othr Source 671 File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $60.32 | $290.00 | $7.71–$245.37 | 79% |
| Franciscan Health Michigan City LaPorte lowest La Porte, IN Bacterial Culture - Othr Source 671 File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $60.32 | $290.00 | $7.71–$245.37 | 79% |
| Northwest Health-la Porte La Porte, IN · (219) 326-1234 Catheter Tip Culture+18 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $220.97 | $409.21 | $171.05–$368.29 | 46% |
Inpatient: lowest $60.32, median $60.32, highest $220.97 — a 3.7× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $60.32 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87070 ($87.75). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest Health-la Porte La Porte, INLegionella pneumophila Culture (LC) | $5.17 | file |