Lab tests CPT 87070 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Bacterial culture (wound) cost in South Bend, IN — inpatient

In South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI, 2 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $36.40 to $128.70, with a median of $82.55. The lowest listed price is at Mishawaka Medical Center — $46.15 less than the median here. Across Indiana, the median is $94.20 at 84 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 28, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Mar 31, 2026.

Lowest$36.40Mishawaka Medical Center

Median$82.55half of hospitals charge less

Highest$128.70in this market

Difference3.5×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI.

median

Lowest $36.40Highest $225.55

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Mishawaka Medical Center lowest Mishawaka, IN · (574) 335-5000 HC Culture Body Fluid+10 more lines at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file	$36.40	$56.00	$4.81–$56.00	35%
Memorial Hospital of South Bend South Bend, IN · (574) 647-1000 Culture Dialysis Fluid+2 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file	$128.70	$198.00	$39.60–$162.36	35%
Mishawaka Medical Center Mishawaka, IN · (574) 335-5000 HC Labcorp 180820 Culture Bacterial Other Source+19 more lines at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file	$225.55	$347.00	$4.81–$347.00	35%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $36.40, median $82.55, highest $128.70 — a 3.5× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $82.55 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

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.