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Based on public Medicaid payment data.

Average Medicaid Culture & Microbiology Tests Payments

Typical Medicaid Culture & Microbiology Tests reimbursement across 4,682 cities

Avg. Medicaid Paid

$6.07

Price Range

$0.00 – $634.67

Total Claims

78.4M

Cities

4682

Typical Payment Range

Typical Medicaid Culture & Microbiology Tests payments fall between $3.29 and $8.84 per claim (median: $5.68). The top 10% of payments exceed $14.70.

Based on per-provider averages across all Medicaid claims in this category.

About This Procedure

Laboratory tests that grow and identify bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms from specimens to diagnose infections and guide antibiotic treatment.

Why do these costs look low?

These figures represent Medicaid reimbursement rates — the amounts that state Medicaid programs actually paid providers. Medicaid typically reimburses significantly less than private insurance or out-of-pocket prices. If you have private insurance or are paying cash, expect higher costs. See the cost components below for per-code averages.

Costs by City

City Avg. Paid Min / Max Claims Providers
Burlington, NC $5.81 $2.15 – $14.34 3,404,924 20
Raritan, NJ $3.38 $3.08 – $3.38 2,553,684 2
Brooklyn, NY $4.73 $0.00 – $136.12 2,317,990 269
Phoenix, AZ $2.31 $0.00 – $204.83 1,924,396 57
West Hills, CA $2.89 $0.00 – $43.59 1,919,164 10
Clifton, NJ $4.40 $0.99 – $7.39 1,860,300 14
Dublin, OH $6.49 $0.32 – $26.46 1,705,918 8
Tampa, FL $2.32 $0.00 – $17.25 1,690,648 68
San Diego, CA $1.81 $0.00 – $153.97 1,568,174 133
Birmingham, AL $6.38 $0.00 – $15.99 1,389,745 161
Marlborough, MA $4.42 $4.05 – $6.01 1,364,285 3
Elmwood Park, NJ $5.50 $2.46 – $5.50 1,316,213 4
Seattle, WA $5.06 $0.01 – $128.38 1,284,482 58
Wood Dale, IL $5.56 $2.78 – $5.56 1,067,447 2
Miramar, FL $3.96 $0.00 – $3.96 949,804 3
Tucker, GA $4.71 $4.39 – $4.71 893,529 2
Sacramento, CA $2.99 $0.00 – $15.59 829,453 38
Cincinnati, OH $4.32 $0.00 – $32.73 753,810 114
Los Angeles, CA $3.44 $0.00 – $23.76 647,820 165
Chicago, IL $3.84 $0.00 – $555.89 634,968 153
Milwaukee, WI $10.82 $0.00 – $20.14 599,891 54
Lenexa, KS $6.22 $0.00 – $9.50 583,306 7
Miami, FL $1.42 $0.00 – $88.87 570,812 132
Pittsburgh, PA $5.35 $0.00 – $17.25 530,883 62
Las Vegas, NV $3.33 $0.00 – $57.73 475,425 55
Cleveland, OH $3.47 $0.00 – $75.07 449,987 239
Dallas, TX $7.46 $0.00 – $147.99 443,108 155
Hicksville, NY $4.10 $1.36 – $6.80 429,510 5
Irving, TX $5.28 $0.00 – $16.11 424,288 15
New Hyde Park, NY $6.45 $0.47 – $10.12 404,494 13
Nashville, TN $3.94 $0.00 – $26.92 403,844 218
New York, NY $4.18 $0.00 – $149.36 384,105 144
Louisville, KY $7.12 $0.00 – $282.59 354,100 87
Tacoma, WA $3.78 $0.06 – $10.73 345,638 17
Richmond, VA $1.36 $0.00 – $8.25 324,155 51
Rochester, NY $6.94 $0.00 – $24.80 318,643 68
Englewood, CO $8.87 $0.00 – $8.87 318,388 8
Albuquerque, NM $9.30 $0.00 – $16.07 311,520 29
Boston, MA $6.06 $0.00 – $41.44 291,281 55
Orange, CA $2.98 $0.00 – $18.29 284,832 18
Bronx, NY $4.96 $0.00 – $86.62 277,829 109
Clovis, CA $0.30 $0.00 – $0.89 277,013 7
West Allis, WI $7.05 $0.00 – $9.03 275,777 6
Memphis, TN $4.49 $0.00 – $592.57 271,838 112
Columbus, OH $5.70 $0.00 – $396.71 265,682 161
Davie, FL $0.83 $0.00 – $1.22 264,026 7
Denver, CO $7.69 $0.00 – $36.05 260,792 138
Houston, TX $6.78 $0.00 – $198.28 259,605 224
Oklahoma City, OK $7.65 $0.00 – $56.28 258,122 120
Greensboro, NC $6.10 $0.82 – $10.85 257,399 92

Cost Components

National averages for each billing code in this procedure category. Sorted by claim volume.

Code Description Avg. Paid Claims Providers
87081 Bacterial culture screen $6.09 17,067,723 13,148
87070 Bacterial culture any source $7.92 16,974,753 10,129
87186 Susceptibility MIC per agent $4.81 16,618,129 4,454
87077 Bacterial culture aerobic ID $5.04 14,909,874 4,673
87205 Gram stain smear primary $2.40 4,994,833 2,839
87210 Wet mount infectious agent $5.11 4,712,262 6,976
87147 Culture typing immunologic $3.18 2,451,709 1,203
87150 Culture typing nucleic pulse $30.04 1,606,021 729
87075 Bacterial culture anaerobic ID $5.59 1,503,203 1,156
87184 Susceptibility disk method $4.38 1,443,783 653
87177 Ova/parasite smear $4.80 1,206,576 603
87209 Smear complex stain ova/para $9.06 1,133,525 393
87102 Fungal culture other $4.97 525,252 550
87206 Smear fluorescent/acid fast $2.77 350,856 384
87101 Fungal culture skin $4.04 296,460 164
87110 Chlamydia culture $8.71 248,967 475
87116 Mycobacterial culture $4.86 198,775 320
87076 Bacterial culture anaerobic def $6.97 168,632 188
87071 Bacterial culture quantitative $5.89 121,148 208
87106 Fungal culture definitive ID $4.99 116,838 169
87181 Susceptibility per organism $3.38 94,626 147
87185 Susceptibility enzyme detect $2.79 89,528 151
87149 Culture typing nucleic acid $12.60 53,774 97
87140 Culture typing fluorescent $3.35 43,147 59
87158 Culture typing other methods $4.86 37,576 21
87207 Smear special stain $5.06 25,167 89
87176 Homogenization tissue culture $2.19 19,563 81
87073 Bacterial culture anaerobic $2.91 15,495 39
87143 Culture typing gas chromat $5.93 12,219 5
87169 Macroscopic exam parasite $7.88 8,524 5
87168 Macroscopic exam arthropod $1.59 7,301 17
87187 Susceptibility microtiter MIC $20.40 4,651 7
87172 Pinworm exam $2.20 4,534 12
87188 Susceptibility MIC macrobroth $1.23 3,056 3
87190 Susceptibility mycobacterial $1.92 775 4
87164 Dark field examination $10.31 707 3
87153 Culture typing additional $47.98 459 3
87152 Culture typing identification — — —
87166 Dark field examination — — —
87197 Susceptibility serum bactericid — — —

These averages group common billing codes used when providers bill Medicaid for this procedure. Individual costs will vary.