Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Worcester, MA
In Worcester, MA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $91.00 to $136.00, with a median of $120.50. The lowest listed price is at Milford Regional Medical Center — $29.50 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $40.00 at 33 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 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 Mar 26, 2026 and Apr 3, 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 Worcester, MA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford Regional Medical Center lowest Milford, MA · (508) 473-1190 Culture othr specimn aerobic+1 more line at this price source file | $91.00 | $91.00 | $8.62–$145.00 | — |
| UMass Memorial Health - Harrington Hospital Southbridge, MA · (508) 765-9771 HC Culture Bacterial Except Urine/Blood/Stool File of Apr 3, 2026 · source file | $107.00 | $107.00 | — | — |
| UMass Memorial Medical Center Worcester, MA · (508) 334-1000 HC Culture Bacterial Except Urine/Blood/Stool File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $134.00 | $134.00 | — | — |
| HealthAlliance - Clinton Hospital Leominster, MA · (978) 466-2000 HC Culture Bacterial Except Urine/Blood/Stool File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $136.00 | $136.00 | — | — |
Outpatient: lowest $91.00, median $120.50, highest $136.00 — a 1.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $107.00. 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 the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.