Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Wheeling, WV
In Wheeling, WV-OH, 3 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $55.50 to $73.00, with a median of $66.00. The lowest listed price is at Wheeling Hospital — $10.50 less than the median here. Across West Virginia, the median is $50.50 at 34 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jul 9, 2026 and Jul 9, 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 Wheeling, WV-OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling Hospital lowest Wheeling, WV · (304) 243-3000 CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC | $55.50 | $111.00 | $5.60–$36.52 | 50% | Jul 9, 2026 source file |
| Barnesville Hospital Association Barnesville, OH · (740) 425-3941 BACTERIAL CULTURE; ANY OTHER SOURCE EXCEPT URINE; BLOOD OR STOOL; AEROBIC | $66.00 | $132.00 | $4.26–$4,748.00 | 50% | — source file |
| Reynolds Memorial Hospital Glen Dale, WV · (304) 843-3230 BACTERIAL CULTURE; ANY OTHER SOURCE EXCEPT URINE; BLOOD OR STOOL; AEROBIC | $73.00 | $146.00 | $5.60–$13.62 | 50% | — source file |
| Reynolds Memorial Hospital Glen Dale, WV · (304) 843-3230 CULTURE OTHR SPECIMN AEROBIC | $77.00 | $154.00 | $5.60–$13.62 | 50% | — source file |
| Wheeling Hospital Wheeling, WV · (304) 243-3000 BACTERIAL CULTURE; ANY OTHER SOURCE EXCEPT URINE; BLOOD OR STOOL; AEROBIC | $111.00 | $222.00 | $5.60–$36.52 | 50% | Jul 9, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $55.50, median $66.00, highest $73.00 — a 1.3× 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.