Urine culture cost in Knoxville, TN
In Knoxville, TN, 6 hospitals list a cash price for urine culture for bacteria, with colony count: from $24.30 to $51.03, with a median of $26.73. The lowest listed price is at Parkwest Medical Center — $2.43 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $26.33 at 44 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 5 cities for code 87086, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Aug 5, 2026 and Aug 27, 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 Knoxville, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parkwest Medical Center lowest Knoxville, TN · (865) 970-1001 CULTURE BACT QUANT COLONY CNT UR | $24.30 | $81.00 | $3.63–$72.90 | 70% | Aug 5, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge Oak Ridge, TN · (865) 835-1000 CULTURE BACT QUANT COLONY CNT UR | $26.73 | $81.00 | $3.63–$72.90 | 67% | Aug 5, 2026 source file |
| Fort Loudoun Medical Center Lenoir City, TN · (865) 271-6000 CULTURE BACT QUANT COLONY CNT UR | $26.73 | $81.00 | $3.63–$72.90 | 67% | Aug 27, 2026 source file |
| Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Knoxville, TN · (865) 541-1101 CULTURE BACT QUANT COLONY CNT UR | $26.73 | $81.00 | $3.63–$72.90 | 67% | Aug 5, 2026 source file |
| Roane County Medical Center Harriman, TN · (865) 316-1000 CULTURE BACT QUANT COLONY CNT UR | $26.73 | $81.00 | $3.63–$72.90 | 67% | Aug 5, 2026 source file |
| Parkwest Medical Center Louisville, TN CULTURE BACT QUANT COLONY CNT UR | $51.03 | $81.00 | $7.23–$64.80 | 37% | Aug 5, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $24.30, median $26.73, highest $51.03 — a 2.1× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 6 of 6 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 urine culture grows bacteria from a urine sample in the lab and counts how many colonies appear. It is used to confirm a urinary tract infection, especially when symptoms return or first treatment does not work.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the culture and colony count. If bacteria grow, identifying them and testing which antibiotics work are separate codes with their own charges.