Lab tests CPT 87070 Outpatient

Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Columbus, NC

In Columbus, NC, 1 hospital lists a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $119.60 to $119.60, with a median of $119.60. Across North Carolina, the median is $77.74 at 61 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility 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 Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.

Lowest$119.60AdventHealth Polk

Median$119.60half of hospitals charge less

Highest$119.60in this market

Difference1.0×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 Columbus, NC.

median

Lowest $119.60Highest $119.60

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
AdventHealth Polk lowest Columbus, NC · (828) 894-3311 HC MICROBIOLOGY - CULTURE AEROBIC+3 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$119.60	$119.60	—	—

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.

No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

Outpatient: lowest $119.60, median $119.60, highest $119.60.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $119.60. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

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.