Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Maryland
In Maryland, 14 hospitals publish a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $20.85 to $147.78, with a median of $112.37. The lowest price is at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (Towson). The highest price is 7.1× the lowest.
Why Maryland prices look low: Maryland is the only state where a commission (the HSCRC) sets hospital rates for every payer, so its hospitals publish prices far below the rest of the country. A separate physician fee may still apply.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 87070. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Sep 29, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$20.85Greater Baltimore Medical Center
Median$112.37half of hospitals charge less
Highest$147.78in Maryland
Lowest saves$91.52vs the median
Hospitals in Maryland, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Baltimore Medical Center lowest Towson · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC Bact.Culture,Resp,Misc | $20.85 | $21.28 | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| Union Hospital of Cecil County Elkton · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ENVIRONM CULTURE | $57.11 | $57.11 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Western Maryland Cumberland · Cumberland, MD-WV NASOPHARYNGEAL CULTURE | $64.80 | $108.00 | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| MedStar St. Mary's Hospital Leonardtown · Lexington Park, MD CULT, BACTERIAL DEF, OTHR SRC | $85.51 | $87.25 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD CULT, BACTERIAL DEF, OTHR SRC | $85.67 | $87.42 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Olney · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV CULT, BACTERIAL DEF, OTHR SRC | $105.81 | $107.97 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| TidalHealth Peninsula Salisbury · Salisbury, MD HC SM CULT RESPIR (RESC) | $109.77 | $112.01 | Mar 19, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Southern Hospital Center Clinton · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV CULT, BACTERIAL DEF, OTHR SRC | $114.97 | $117.32 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Harbor Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD CULT, BACTERIAL DEF, OTHR SRC | $116.60 | $118.98 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD CULTURE,BACT AEROBIC | $117.47 | $119.87 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Atlantic General Hospital Berlin · Ocean Pines, MD Culture, bacterial; any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates | $125.21 | $125.21 | Apr 10, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC CULTURE SPEC, BACTERIA, NOT URINE,STOOL,BLOOD REF | $128.13 | $130.74 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD CULT, BACTERIAL DEF, OTHR SRC | $130.07 | $132.72 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BODY FLUID CULTURE | $147.78 | $150.80 | Nov 5, 2025 source file |
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
File date When the hospital last updated its price file, as the file says itself. A dash means the file gives no date.
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
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
| Metro area | Hospitals | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 7 | $20.85 | $117.47 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 2 | $105.81 | $110.39 |
| Cumberland, MD-WV | 1 | $64.80 | $64.80 |
| Lexington Park, MD | 1 | $85.51 | $85.51 |
| Ocean Pines, MD | 1 | $125.21 | $125.21 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1 | $57.11 | $57.11 |
| Salisbury, MD | 1 | $109.77 | $109.77 |
Market A metro area (as the Census Bureau defines it) or, outside metro areas, a town. Each links to every hospital price there.
Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.
Lowest The lowest cash price among those hospitals.
Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More
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.
Bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid) in other states
- Alabama$76.99
- Alaska$144.65
- Arizona$61.62
- Arkansas$38.48
- California$133.00
- Colorado$107.50
- Connecticut$51.32
- Delaware$225.91
- District of Columbia$89.70
- Florida$90.00
- Georgia$82.46
- Hawaii$80.40
- Idaho$58.88
- Illinois$91.00
- Indiana$94.20
- Iowa$60.45
- Kansas$57.05
- Kentucky$103.20
- Louisiana$28.15
- Maine$69.00
- Massachusetts$40.00
- Michigan$53.00
- Minnesota$68.69
- Mississippi$53.04
- Missouri$67.70
- Montana$65.00
- Nebraska$81.03
- Nevada$112.00
- New Hampshire$92.10
- New Jersey$29.16
- New Mexico$82.59
- New York$37.80
- North Carolina$71.80
- North Dakota$64.80
- Ohio$67.75
- Oklahoma$42.50
- Oregon$52.38
- Pennsylvania$61.20
- Puerto Rico$30.00
- Rhode Island$68.80
- South Carolina$123.54
- South Dakota$85.30
- Tennessee$39.10
- Texas$67.00
- Utah$102.73
- Vermont$84.27
- Virginia$68.95
- Washington$87.60
- West Virginia$50.50
- Wisconsin$77.35
- Wyoming$73.60
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.