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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
Indianapolis, IN $15.65 $0.00 – $317.78 149,606 133
Gainesville, FL $1.39 $0.00 – $27.02 149,934 53
Bakersfield, CA $5.43 $0.00 – $276.98 151,131 61
Lakewood, NJ $4.20 $0.00 – $24.36 156,578 41
Hartford, CT $1.86 $0.00 – $45.72 157,468 23
N Hollywood, CA $4.06 $4.06 – $4.06 158,494 1
Orlando, FL $1.23 $0.00 – $42.68 162,813 81
Allen Park, MI $6.38 $1.63 – $6.39 163,486 2
Springfield, IL $3.88 $0.00 – $10.27 163,768 22
Ewa Beach, HI $10.65 $6.34 – $10.83 166,582 2
Charleston, SC $36.91 $0.00 – $57.13 168,309 29
Charleston, WV $11.62 $0.00 – $47.24 168,668 28
Spokane, WA $3.97 $0.27 – $9.30 172,338 23
Charlotte, NC $10.73 $0.00 – $295.97 174,123 228
Long Beach, CA $1.86 $0.00 – $14.49 175,923 36
Knoxville, TN $3.45 $0.00 – $45.33 179,486 129
La Mesa, CA $3.01 $0.00 – $12.39 181,043 9
Baltimore, MD $5.17 $0.00 – $61.67 190,758 74
Tucson, AZ $3.25 $0.00 – $17.01 193,498 30
Toledo, OH $4.61 $0.00 – $32.08 195,199 63
Lexington, KY $8.84 $0.00 – $29.02 198,899 51
Pomona, CA $2.58 $1.14 – $9.47 212,073 13
Jackson, MS $5.88 $0.00 – $11.85 220,436 35
Springfield, MA $6.24 $0.00 – $13.07 222,481 22
Pendleton, OR $6.02 $6.02 – $6.02 236,775 1
Norfolk, VA $1.91 $0.00 – $8.46 241,672 41
Tulsa, OK $7.56 $0.00 – $400.07 243,531 61
Grand Rapids, MI $2.30 $0.00 – $11.81 243,934 12
Austin, TX $4.47 $0.00 – $108.65 251,320 60
Detroit, MI $2.41 $0.00 – $73.01 251,650 44
Portland, OR $8.19 $0.00 – $24.76 256,731 101
Chino Hills, CA $2.32 $0.00 – $2.32 256,751 4
Greensboro, NC $6.10 $0.82 – $10.85 257,399 92
Oklahoma City, OK $7.65 $0.00 – $56.28 258,122 120
Houston, TX $6.78 $0.00 – $198.28 259,605 224
Denver, CO $7.69 $0.00 – $36.05 260,792 138
Davie, FL $0.83 $0.00 – $1.22 264,026 7
Columbus, OH $5.70 $0.00 – $396.71 265,682 161
Memphis, TN $4.49 $0.00 – $592.57 271,838 112
West Allis, WI $7.05 $0.00 – $9.03 275,777 6
Clovis, CA $0.30 $0.00 – $0.89 277,013 7
Bronx, NY $4.96 $0.00 – $86.62 277,829 109
Orange, CA $2.98 $0.00 – $18.29 284,832 18
Boston, MA $6.06 $0.00 – $41.44 291,281 55
Albuquerque, NM $9.30 $0.00 – $16.07 311,520 29
Englewood, CO $8.87 $0.00 – $8.87 318,388 8
Rochester, NY $6.94 $0.00 – $24.80 318,643 68
Richmond, VA $1.36 $0.00 – $8.25 324,155 51
Tacoma, WA $3.78 $0.06 – $10.73 345,638 17
Louisville, KY $7.12 $0.00 – $282.59 354,100 87

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.