Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Omaha, NE
In Omaha, NE-IA, 15 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $13.23 to $194.00, with a median of $57.12. The lowest listed price is at Alegent Health Community Memorial Hospital of Missouri Valley, Iowa — $43.89 less than the median here. Across Nebraska, the median is $77.42 at 52 hospitals.
Cash prices at 15 facilities across 7 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 14, 2026 and Aug 10, 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 Omaha, NE-IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alegent Health Community Memorial Hospital of Missouri Valley, Iowa lowest Missouri Valley, IA · (712) 642-2784 HC RHC CULTR SPECMN BACT | $13.23 | $27.00 | $8.62–$27.00 | 51% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 396-6000 Sputum Culture | $32.10 | $107.00 | $8.36–$74.90 | 70% | Feb 15, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 396-6000 Culture Routine | $32.10 | $107.00 | $8.36–$74.90 | 70% | Feb 15, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 Culture Routine | $38.52 | $107.00 | $8.36–$74.90 | 64% | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 Culture Routine | $38.52 | $107.00 | $8.36–$74.90 | 64% | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 Sputum Culture | $38.52 | $107.00 | $8.36–$74.90 | 64% | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 Sputum Culture | $38.52 | $107.00 | $8.36–$74.90 | 64% | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Bellevue Medical Center Bellevue, NE · (402) 763-3600 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic | $49.40 | $76.00 | $6.55–$196.27 | 35% | Aug 10, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE · (402) 559-4000 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic | $49.40 | $76.00 | $6.55–$196.27 | 35% | Aug 10, 2026 source file |
| Midwest Surgical Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 399-1900 BACTERIAL CULTURE; ANY OTHER SOURCE EXCEPT URINE; BLOOD OR STOOL; AEROBIC | $53.25 | $71.00 | $8.62–$17.58 | 25% | — source file |
| Midwest Surgical Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 399-1900 CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC | $56.25 | $75.00 | $8.62–$17.58 | 25% | — source file |
| CHI Health Midlands Papillion, NE · (402) 593-3000 HC CULTURE - SPUTUM | $57.12 | $136.00 | $8.35–$115.60 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 328-5000 HC CULTURE - SPUTUM | $57.12 | $136.00 | $8.35–$115.60 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Bergan Mercy Omaha, NE · (402) 398-6020 HC CULTURE - SPUTUM | $57.12 | $136.00 | $8.35–$115.60 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Lasting Hope Recovery Center Omaha, NE HC CULTURE - SPUTUM | $57.12 | $136.00 | $8.35–$115.60 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center Omaha, NE · (402) 572-2121 HC CULTURE - SPUTUM | $57.12 | $136.00 | $8.35–$115.60 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Lakeside Omaha, NE · (402) 717-8000 HC CULTURE - SPUTUM | $57.12 | $136.00 | $8.35–$115.60 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 396-6000 Pertussis Culture | $57.30 | $191.00 | $8.36–$133.70 | 70% | Feb 15, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 Pertussis Culture | $68.76 | $191.00 | $8.36–$133.70 | 64% | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 Pertussis Culture | $68.76 | $191.00 | $8.36–$133.70 | 64% | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Memorial Community Hospital Blair, NE · (402) 426-1502 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic | $84.67 | $105.83 | $9.12–$103.72 | 20% | Jul 15, 2026 source file |
| Alegent Health Community Memorial Hospital of Missouri Valley, Iowa Missouri Valley, IA · (712) 642-2784 HC CULTURE ANY OTHER SOURCE | $104.37 | $213.00 | $8.62–$208.74 | 51% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Lakeside Omaha, NE · (402) 717-8000 HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $105.00 | $250.00 | $8.35–$212.50 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Midlands Papillion, NE · (402) 593-3000 HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $105.00 | $250.00 | $8.35–$212.50 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center Omaha, NE · (402) 572-2121 HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $105.00 | $250.00 | $8.35–$212.50 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Lasting Hope Recovery Center Omaha, NE HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $105.00 | $250.00 | $8.35–$212.50 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Bergan Mercy Omaha, NE · (402) 398-6020 HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $105.00 | $250.00 | $8.35–$212.50 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 328-5000 HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $105.00 | $250.00 | $8.35–$212.50 | 58% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Saunders Medical Center Wahoo, NE · (402) 443-4191 ROUTINE CULTURE | $127.50 | $170.00 | — | 25% | — source file |
| Saunders Medical Center Wahoo, NE · (402) 443-4191 CULTURE ROUTINEOTHER | $127.50 | $170.00 | — | 25% | — source file |
| Alegent Health Community Memorial Hospital of Missouri Valley, Iowa Missouri Valley, IA · (712) 642-2784 HC CULTURE NASAL OR THROAT | $129.36 | $264.00 | $8.62–$258.72 | 51% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Spine Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 572-3000 HC CULTURE ANY OTHER SOURCE | $194.00 | $194.00 | $7.13–$194.00 | — | Jul 20, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $13.23, median $57.12, highest $194.00 — a 14.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $57.12. 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 12 of 14 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.