Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Vallejo, CA — inpatient
In Vallejo, CA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) as an inpatient: from $166.00 to $423.00, with a median of $254.80. The lowest listed price is at NorthBay Medical Center — $88.80 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $133.00 at 189 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 87070, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 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 Vallejo, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NorthBay Medical Center lowest Fairfield, CA · (707) 646-5000 Bacterial Culture Genital File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $166.00 | $166.00 | — | — |
| NorthBay Medical Center Fairfield, CA · (707) 646-5000 Bacterial Culture Bone Marrow+4 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $228.00 | $228.00 | — | — |
| NorthBay Medical Center Fairfield, CA · (707) 646-5000 Bacterial Culture Respiratory+7 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $250.00 | $250.00 | — | — |
| NorthBay Medical Center one side Fairfield, CA · (707) 646-5000 Cult Rt Aerobic File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $250.00 | $250.00 | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital & Rehab Center - Vallejo Vallejo, CA · (707) 651-1000 CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL source file | $254.80 | $455.00 | $8.00–$25.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Vacaville Vacaville, CA · (707) 624-4000 CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL source file | $254.80 | $455.00 | $8.00–$25.00 | 44% |
| Sutter Solano Medical Center Vallejo, CA · (707) 554-5280 HCHG CORE CULT NASAL+6 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — |
Inpatient: lowest $166.00, median $254.80, highest $423.00 — a 2.5× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $254.80 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 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.