Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Roanoke, VA
In Roanoke, VA, 6 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $64.50 to $428.00, with a median of $68.95. The lowest listed price is at Bon Secours Southampton Memorial Hospital — $4.45 less than the median here. Across Virginia, the median is $68.95 at 64 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 28, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 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 Roanoke, VA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bon Secours Southampton Memorial Hospital lowest Franklin, VA · (757) 569-6100 HC Cul Bact Xcpt Urine Blood/Stool Aerobic Isol File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $64.50 | $215.00 | — | 70% |
| Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital Rocky Mt, VA · (540) 483-5277 HB CULTURE BACTERIA AEROBIC File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $68.95 | $197.00 | $8.78–$187.15 | 65% |
| Carilion Giles Community Hospital Roanoke, VA · (540) 981-7000 HB CULTURE BACTERIA AEROBIC File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $68.95 | $197.00 | $8.78–$187.15 | 65% |
| Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital Roanoke, VA · (540) 981-7000 HB CULTURE BACTERIA AEROBIC File of Apr 17, 2026 · source file | $68.95 | $197.00 | $8.78–$187.15 | 65% |
| Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital Roanoke, VA HB CULTURE BACTERIA AEROBIC File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $68.95 | $197.00 | $8.78–$187.15 | 65% |
| Lewisgale Medical Center Roanoke, VA · (540) 776-4100 CULT THROAT File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $428.00 | $428.00 | $74.47–$385.20 | — |
| Lewisgale Medical Center Roanoke, VA · (540) 776-4100 CULT ENVIRON EPIDEMI File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $552.00 | $552.00 | $96.05–$496.80 | — |
| Lewisgale Medical Center Roanoke, VA · (540) 776-4100 CULTURE EYE+8 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $702.00 | $702.00 | $122.15–$631.80 | — |
| Lewisgale Medical Center Roanoke, VA · (540) 776-4100 CULTURE BODY FLUID File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $899.00 | $899.00 | $156.43–$809.10 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $64.50, median $68.95, highest $428.00 — a 6.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $64.50. 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 4 of 5 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.