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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
Whittier, CA $18.74 $0.00 – $31.39 58,768 11
Plantation, FL $0.88 $0.00 – $88.76 57,843 40
Torrance, CA $3.50 $0.00 – $91.55 56,721 23
Santa Ana, CA $13.75 $0.00 – $32.42 56,631 34
Norristown, PA $3.55 $0.22 – $7.24 55,333 4
Farmingdale, NY $2.67 $2.67 – $2.67 55,202 1
Ft Lauderdale, FL $1.09 $0.00 – $7.18 54,502 15
Huntington, WV $14.79 $0.00 – $29.40 54,263 13
Camden, NJ $4.01 $0.00 – $8.25 54,168 12
Roanoke, VA $1.16 $0.00 – $15.75 53,919 26
Murrieta, CA $4.01 $0.00 – $11.28 53,859 12
El Paso, TX $10.12 $0.00 – $88.72 52,911 107
Saginaw, MI $1.77 $0.50 – $12.19 52,727 21
Yakima, WA $1.58 $0.49 – $10.71 52,660 11
Farmington, CT $2.32 $1.76 – $6.34 52,529 5
Palm Springs, CA $2.84 $0.00 – $8.34 51,936 6
Wyoming, MI $2.04 $1.76 – $129.88 51,722 5
Fishersville, VA $3.31 $0.36 – $5.88 51,369 7
Paterson, NJ $4.84 $0.00 – $40.53 50,992 12
Falls Church, VA $1.10 $0.55 – $4.71 50,741 4
Hemet, CA $3.82 $0.00 – $18.78 50,738 12
Omaha, NE $7.33 $0.00 – $180.62 50,177 47
Hattiesburg, MS $5.93 $0.00 – $16.42 50,005 29
Hanford, CA $3.18 $0.00 – $4.58 49,860 6
Baton Rouge, LA $5.88 $0.00 – $134.35 49,776 166
Lancaster, CA $5.59 $0.00 – $21.63 49,709 13
Vancouver, WA $0.68 $0.23 – $7.80 48,999 8
Hillside, IL $7.59 $7.59 – $7.59 48,766 1
Flushing, NY $3.83 $0.00 – $15.19 48,538 30
Madera, CA $5.95 $0.20 – $94.10 48,045 12
Augusta, ME $1.74 $1.54 – $10.68 48,044 5
San Antonio, TX $7.84 $0.00 – $67.72 48,020 138
Voorhees, NJ $4.01 $3.16 – $18.31 47,842 5
Pascagoula, MS $6.18 $2.47 – $6.44 47,809 3
Oroville, CA $7.58 $1.15 – $9.44 47,164 4
Jackson, MI $3.24 $0.37 – $4.82 47,134 6
Tallahassee, FL $1.07 $0.00 – $8.57 47,096 22
El Monte, CA $0.21 $0.00 – $0.98 47,033 8
Florence, SC $16.73 $0.00 – $47.67 46,921 7
Cedar Knolls, NJ $2.57 $2.47 – $2.57 46,903 2
Benton, AR $8.25 $8.25 – $8.25 46,664 1
Northbrook, IL $5.04 $4.68 – $5.04 46,512 2
Boise, ID $6.50 $4.91 – $8.17 46,205 6
Quincy, IL $4.09 $0.00 – $32.45 46,195 12
Silverdale, WA $1.53 $1.53 – $1.53 46,152 1
La Crosse, WI $10.15 $5.47 – $10.53 46,058 6
Winchester, KY $7.02 $7.02 – $7.02 45,992 1
Victorville, CA $2.58 $0.00 – $17.12 45,585 10
Middletown, CT $2.82 $2.46 – $6.34 45,559 4
Mount Vernon, WA $3.10 $2.73 – $7.53 45,350 6

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.