Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Panama City, FL
In Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL, 3 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $9.60 to $1,252.00, with a median of $191.52. The lowest listed price is at Northwest Florida Community Hospital — $181.92 less than the median here. Across Florida, the median is $86.20 at 157 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 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between May 19, 2026 and Sep 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 Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Florida Community Hospital lowest Chipley, FL · (850) 638-1610 CULTURE (SPUTUM)+1 more line at this price File of May 19, 2026 · source file | $9.60 | $12.00 | $2.30–$38.86 | 20% |
| Northwest Florida Community Hospital Chipley, FL · (850) 638-1610 CULTURE (BODY FLUID) File of May 19, 2026 · source file | $12.80 | $16.00 | $3.07–$38.86 | 20% |
| Northwest Florida Community Hospital Chipley, FL · (850) 638-1610 ..TEST CULTURE (BODY FLUID) File of May 19, 2026 · source file | $23.41 | $29.26 | $5.61–$38.86 | 20% |
| Northwest Florida Community Hospital Chipley, FL · (850) 638-1610 ..TEST CULTURE Aerobic+4 more lines at this price File of May 19, 2026 · source file | $27.68 | $34.60 | $6.64–$38.86 | 20% |
| Northwest Florida Community Hospital Chipley, FL · (850) 638-1610 ..TEST CULTURE (ENVIROMENTAL)+1 more line at this price File of May 19, 2026 · source file | $174.40 | $218.00 | $8.62–$159.14 | 20% |
| Ascension Sacred Heart Bay Panama City, FL · (850) 769-1511 CULTURE GASTRIC source file | $191.52 | $478.80 | $8.62–$31.88 | 60% |
| Ascension Sacred Heart Bay Panama City, FL · (850) 769-1511 CULTURE RESPIRATORY+12 more lines at this price source file | $304.43 | $761.08 | $8.62–$31.88 | 60% |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE EAR File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,252.00 | $1,252.00 | $192.81–$1,126.80 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE WOUND File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,433.00 | $1,433.00 | $220.68–$1,289.70 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE EYE File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,444.00 | $1,444.00 | $222.38–$1,299.60 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE SPUTUM File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,497.00 | $1,497.00 | $230.54–$1,347.30 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULT THROAT File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,536.00 | $1,536.00 | $236.54–$1,382.40 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULT ENVIRON EPIDEMI+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,559.00 | $1,559.00 | $240.09–$1,403.10 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE CSF File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,568.00 | $1,568.00 | $241.47–$1,411.20 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE CATHETER TIP File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,588.65 | $1,588.65 | $244.65–$1,429.79 | — |
| HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital Panama City, FL · (850) 747-7926 CULTURE GENITAL+2 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,589.00 | $1,589.00 | $244.71–$1,430.10 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $9.60, median $191.52, highest $1,252.00 — a 130.4× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 1 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.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87070 ($91.03). 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 Florida Community Hospital Chipley, FL..TEST CULTURE (THROAT) | $8.98 | file |
| Northwest Florida Community Hospital Chipley, FLCULTURE (THROAT) | $8.98 | file |