CPT 87070 · 1,782 hospitals reporting

Bacterial culture; any other source except urine; blood or stool; aerobic

The same procedure costs $50.85 at one hospital and $1,343 at another — a 26× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $105.

Cheapest published

$50.85

421 entries below $50 already filtered. Remaining low values usually reflect partial-cost line items (professional fee only), not full bills.

Median across 1,782 hospitals

$105

The realistic middle of the cash-price distribution. Use this as your benchmark.

Most expensive

$1,343

Highest published price. Often a gross-charge "list price" rarely actually paid.

Price distribution

500 hospitals · log-scale x-axis

Each bar = number of hospitals charging in that price range. Emerald bar contains the median. Amber dots = entries we flagged as likely partial-cost line items (excluded from the table below).

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Why some prices look unrealistically low or high

Hospitals publish their machine-readable files (MRFs) the way they choose. A single procedure code can appear with very different prices depending on what's being charged:

Global price — facility + implant + anesthesia + surgeon. This is what you'd actually be billed.
Professional fee only — surgeon's portion. Often $500–$2,500 for a major procedure that costs $20K+ globally.
Facility fee only — operating room and recovery, no implant or surgeon.
Per-unit / per-minute charges — e.g. anesthesia time billed at $0.68/min appearing under a CPT code.
Rate multipliers — values like 0.85 meaning "85% of Medicare" rather than dollars.

We filter the most obvious artifacts (under $50, or 25× above the median), but rows in the $500–$2K range for a major procedure are typically professional-only and we can't always tell. Use the median and high-end as the realistic range; treat very low rows as partial-cost line items, not full bills.

500 hospitals reporting

Hospital	State	Gross	Cash price	Min negotiated	Max negotiated	Your insurer
DIGNITY HEALTH - ARIZONA GENERAL HOSPITAL	AZ	$460	$105	$244	$376	2 insurers
DIGNITY HEALTH - ARIZONA GENERAL HOSPITAL	AZ	$460	$105	$5.17	$376	5 insurers
ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$460	$105	$244	$376	2 insurers
ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$460	$105	$5.17	$376	5 insurers
CENTURA HEALTH-PENROSE ST FRANCIS HEALTH SERVICES	CO	$178	$105	$97.9	$167	5 insurers
CENTURA HEALTH-PENROSE ST FRANCIS HEALTH SERVICES	CO	$178	$105	$8.35	$167	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH ST. FRANCIS	NE	$178	$105	$97.9	$167	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH ST. FRANCIS	NE	$178	$105	$8.35	$167	5 insurers
PEACEHEALTH PEACE ISLAND MEDICAL CENTER	WA	$161	$105	—	—	4 insurers
ROSEBUD HEALTH CARE CENTER	MT	$105	$105	—	—	5 insurers
SPRINGHILL MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$125	$106	—	—	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH MISSOURI VALLEY	IA	$213	$104	$121	$209	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH MISSOURI VALLEY	IA	$213	$104	$8.62	$209	5 insurers
WOODLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	CA	$389	$107	$42.79	$358	5 insurers
WOODLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	CA	$389	$107	$7.51	$389	5 insurers
MERCY SAN JUAN MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$389	$107	$42.79	$323	5 insurers
MERCY SAN JUAN MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$389	$107	$7.51	$323	5 insurers
SACRED HEART MEDICAL CENTER - RIVERBEND	OR	$164	$107	—	—	5 insurers
MONUMENT HEALTH SPEARFISH HOSPITAL	SD	$104	$104	$15.52	$101	4 insurers
MONUMENT HEALTH RAPID CITY HOSPITAL	SD	$104	$104	$15.52	$99.84	5 insurers
LONGS PEAK HOSPITAL	CO	$305	$107	—	—	5 insurers
PARKLAND HEALTH CENTER - BONNE TERRE	MO	$173	$104	$8.62	$173	5 insurers
BEAR VALLEY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	CA	$153	$107	—	—	4 insurers
CASTLEVIEW HOSPITAL	UT	$195	$107	—	—	0 insurers
NORTON SCOTT HOSPITAL	IN	$516	$103	—	—	1 insurers
NORTON HOSPITALS, INC	KY	$516	$103	—	—	1 insurers
MARY GREELEY MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$250	$108	$175	$250	3 insurers
TIPPAH COUNTY HOSPITAL	MS	$108	$108	—	—	5 insurers
BELL HOSPITAL	MI	$180	$108	—	—	0 insurers
CHI HEALTH - MERCY CORNING	IA	$213	$102	$128	$209	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH - MERCY CORNING	IA	$213	$102	$8.62	$209	5 insurers
BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE ORTHOPEDIC AND SPINE HOSPI	TX	$181	$109	$0.47	$8,427	5 insurers
MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY HOSPITAL	KS	$102	$102	—	—	0 insurers
BARAGA COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	MI	$102	$102	—	—	0 insurers
PERSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	NC	$272	$109	—	—	3 insurers
TEXAS HEALTH HOSPITAL FRISCO	TX	$181	$109	—	—	1 insurers
COMMUNITY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$170	$102	—	—	5 insurers
COMMUNITY MEDICAL CENTER	MT	$170	$102	—	—	5 insurers
FRANKLIN HOSPITAL	IL	$146	$110	—	—	5 insurers
STEVENS COMMUNITY MEDICAL CENTER	MN	$146	$110	—	—	5 insurers