Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Tucson, AZ
In Tucson, AZ, 8 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $11.36 to $238.56, with a median of $103.88. The lowest listed price is at Banner University Med Center South — $92.52 less than the median here. Across Arizona, the median is $67.60 at 56 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 2 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 2, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 2, 2026 and Sep 25, 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 Tucson, AZ.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banner University Med Center South lowest Tucson, AZ · (520) 874-2000 LAB CULT BACT AEROBIC OTHER NS File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $11.36 | $68.00 | $8.62–$54.40 | 83% |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZ · (520) 874-2000 LAB CULT BACT AEROBIC OTHER File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $12.53 | $75.00 | $8.62–$60.00 | 83% |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZ · (520) 874-4189 LAB CULT BACT AEROBIC OTHER NS File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $15.91 | $68.00 | $8.62–$51.00 | 77% |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZ · (520) 874-4189 LAB CULT BACT AEROBIC OTHER File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $17.55 | $75.00 | $8.62–$56.25 | 77% |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZ · (520) 874-2000 LAB CULT BACT AEROBIC WOUND+1 more line at this price File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $22.55 | $135.00 | $8.62–$108.00 | 83% |
| Tucson Medical Center Rincon Hospital Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Bacterial Cx Other Source File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $28.84 | $103.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Bacterial Cx Other Source File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $28.84 | $103.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Listeria Culture File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $41.16 | $147.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Tucson Medical Center Rincon Hospital Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Listeria Culture File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $41.16 | $147.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Tucson Medical Center Rincon Hospital Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Culture Eye File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $171.92 | $614.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Culture Eye File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $171.92 | $614.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Northwest Medical Center Houghton Tucson, AZ · (520) 416-7100 CULTURE BACTERIA OTH File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $178.92 | $994.00 | $8.28–$596.40 | 82% |
| Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita Sahuarita, AZ · (520) 416-7100 CULTURE BACTERIA OTH File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $178.92 | $994.00 | $8.28–$596.40 | 82% |
| Tucson Medical Center Rincon Hospital Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Culture Sputum+17 more lines at this price File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $180.88 | $646.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZ · (520) 324-1399 HC Culture Body Fluid+17 more lines at this price File of Apr 30, 2026 · source file | $180.88 | $646.00 | $8.62–$17.43 | 72% |
| Northwest Hospital Tucson, AZ · (520) 469-8100 CULTURE BACTERIA OTH File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $238.56 | $994.00 | $8.28–$894.60 | 76% |
| Oro Valley Hospital Tucson, AZ · (520) 901-3500 CULTURE BACTERIA OTH File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $238.56 | $994.00 | $8.28–$894.60 | 76% |
Outpatient: lowest $11.36, median $103.88, highest $238.56 — a 21.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 8 facilities here, median $193.34. 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 6 of 8 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.
24 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC TISSUE | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC RESP UPPER | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC RESP LOWER | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC GENITAL | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC BARTONELLA | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC CATHETER TIP | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC CSF | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC EAR | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Med Center South Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC EYE | $4.34 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC WOUND | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT FLUID BODY STERILE | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC BARTONELLA | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC CATHETER TIP | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC CSF | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC EAR | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC EYE | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC GENITAL | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC RESP LOWER | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC RESP UPPER | $6.08 | file |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson Tucson, AZLAB CULT BACT AEROBIC TISSUE | $6.08 | file |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZHC Diptheria Culture | $7.00 | file |
| Tucson Medical Center Rincon Hospital Tucson, AZHC Diptheria Culture | $7.00 | file |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZHC Environmental Culture | $7.56 | file |
| Tucson Medical Center Rincon Hospital Tucson, AZHC Environmental Culture | $7.56 | file |