Bacterial culture (wound) cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 6 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $11.20 to $42.39, with a median of $19.42. The lowest listed price is at St Bernard Parish Hospital — $8.22 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $28.15 at 58 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 5 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 16, 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bernard Parish Hospital lowest Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC CULTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $11.20 | $35.00 | — | 68% |
| Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC RESPIRATORY CULTURE+4 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $14.30 | $65.00 | — | 78% |
| Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC CULTURE MISC+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $15.40 | $70.00 | — | 78% |
| St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC CULTURE, ROUTINE AEROBIC+3 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $15.68 | $49.00 | — | 68% |
| The Ochsner West Campus Extended Care Hospital Jefferson, LA HC RESPIRATORY CULTURE+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $19.24 | $52.00 | — | 63% |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC CULTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file | $19.60 | $70.00 | — | 72% |
| St Charles Surgical Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 529-6600 CULTURE ENVIRONMENTAL File of Aug 17, 2026 · source file | $20.82 | $59.04 | $8.45–$27.04 | 65% |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 *HC ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURE File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file | $28.28 | $101.00 | — | 72% |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC RESP CULT, CYSTIC FIBROSIS File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file | $30.52 | $109.00 | — | 72% |
| St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC CULTURE MISC+3 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $42.39 | $157.00 | — | 73% |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC SPINAL FLD CULTURE+2 more lines at this price File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file | $50.96 | $182.00 | — | 72% |
| St Charles Surgical Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 529-6600 LCMC CULTURE ENVIRONMENTAL+11 more lines at this price File of Aug 17, 2026 · source file | $58.19 | $165.00 | $8.45–$75.57 | 65% |
Inpatient: lowest $11.20, median $19.42, highest $42.39 — a 3.8× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $20.82 — 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.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87070 ($87.04). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LAHC RESP CULT, CYSTIC FIBROSIS | $7.02 | file |
| St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LAHC CULTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL | $7.02 | file |