Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Paducah, KY
In Paducah, KY-IL, 3 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $82.80 to $133.20, with a median of $107.18. The lowest listed price is at Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Services — $24.38 less than the median here. Across Kentucky, the median is $103.20 at 77 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 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 Paducah, KY-IL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Services lowest Salem, KY · (270) 988-2299 Body Fluid Culture, Sterile LC+11 more lines at this price source file | $82.80 | $138.00 | $7.32–$117.30 | 40% |
| Baptist Health Paducah Paducah, KY · (270) 575-2100 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic File of Sep 18, 2026 · source file | $107.18 | $142.90 | $7.32–$285.80 | 25% |
| Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital Paducah, KY · (270) 444-2444 HC Culture, Aerobic source file | $133.20 | $222.00 | — | 40% |
| Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital Paducah, KY · (270) 444-2444 HC So Body Fluid Culture source file | $144.00 | $240.00 | — | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $82.80, median $107.18, highest $133.20 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $113.40. 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 2 of 2 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.