CMS Price Transparency Data

Culture, bacterial

Facility: Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital

Billing Code: 87070 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

about 0.9× the $9 Medicare rate · typically $7–$19

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

About the fair price

0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $9 Fair price $8 This hospital $8 Cash price $381 Hospital's list price $381

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other CA hospitals

A typical price — 0 charge more and 4 charge less, among the 9 CA hospitals compared.

Cheapest $5 Priciest $8

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 CA hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

⚠ The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.

A fair price for a Culture, bacterial is about $8 (about 0.9× the $9 Medicare rate). Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital charges insurers about $8, or about $381 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Salinas, CA.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

5 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana Kaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$22 - $583	255%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$7 - $497	81%
Aetnamajor	$30 - $656	348%
Cignamajor	$23 - $510	267%
Humanamajor	$30 - $656	348%
Health Net	$33 - $729	383%
+ 6 smaller / regional plans	$6 - $605

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price (about 381), before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the CPT code on your bill matches exactly: 87070.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 87070.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital

Compare: Culture, bacterial at other CA hospitals

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.