Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Oklahoma City, OK
In Oklahoma City, OK, 6 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $10.88 to $122.85, with a median of $25.65. The lowest listed price is at Purcell Municipal Hospital — $14.77 less than the median here. Across Oklahoma, the median is $42.50 at 59 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 3 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 25, 2026 and Jun 18, 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 Oklahoma City, OK.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purcell Municipal Hospital lowest Purcell, OK · (405) 527-6524 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic File of Jun 18, 2026 · source file | $10.88 | $18.14 | $1.56–$22.01 | 40% |
| Oklahoma Heart Hospital Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 608-3200 HC Cul Bact Xcpt Urine Blood/Stool Aerobic Isol File of Mar 27, 2026 · source file | $12.95 | $37.00 | $7.67–$34.46 | 65% |
| Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 628-6000 HC Cul Bact Xcpt Urine Blood/Stool Aerobic Isol File of Mar 27, 2026 · source file | $12.95 | $37.00 | $7.67–$33.30 | 65% |
| Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 755-1515 Culture IV Catheter Tip+4 more lines at this price File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $38.35 | $59.00 | $7.02–$59.00 | 35% |
| OU Health - University of Oklahoma Medical Center Oklahoma City, OK BACTERIAL CULTURE; ANY OTHER SOURCE EXCEPT URINE; BLOOD OR STOOL; AEROBIC File of Mar 25, 2026 · source file | $57.80 | $578.00 | $8.62–$448.00 | 90% |
| Mercy Hospital Logan County Guthrie, OK · (405) 282-6700 Culture IV Catheter Tip+16 more lines at this price File of Jun 11, 2026 · source file | $122.85 | $189.00 | $7.67–$74.00 | 35% |
| Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 755-1515 Culture Nasopharyngeal+4 more lines at this price File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $127.40 | $196.00 | $7.02–$196.00 | 35% |
| Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 755-1515 Culture Any Other Source+1 more line at this price File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $213.20 | $328.00 | $7.02–$58.26 | 35% |
| Oklahoma Heart Hospital Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 608-3200 HC Cul Bact Xcpt Urine Blood/Stool Aerobic Isol File of Mar 27, 2026 · source file | $219.35 | — | $7.67–$251.37 | — |
| Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 755-1515 Culture Bronchial Brush+4 more lines at this price File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $229.45 | $353.00 | $7.02–$353.00 | 35% |
| Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 755-1515 Culture Eye File of Jun 12, 2026 · source file | $240.50 | $370.00 | $7.02–$58.26 | 35% |
| Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Oklahoma City, OK · (405) 628-6000 HC Cul Bact Xcpt Urine Blood/Stool Aerobic Isol File of Mar 27, 2026 · source file | $2,546.61 | — | $7.67–$7,434.16 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $10.88, median $25.65, highest $122.85 — a 11.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $12.95. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 5 of 6 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 |
|---|---|---|
| OU Health - University of Oklahoma Medical Center Oklahoma City, OKCULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC | $1.35 | file |