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CPT 87070: Aerobic Culture with Isolation and Presumptive Identification
CPT code 87070 represents an aerobic bacterial culture with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates from clinical specimens excluding urine, blood, and stool. This laboratory service is a fundamental diagnostic step in identifying bacterial pathogens from wound, respiratory, or other non-sterile body site specimens and supports antimicrobial decision-making and infection control efforts nationwide. The code matters because accurate identification of pathogens underpins clinical management, public health surveillance, and laboratory reimbursement frameworks.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for CPT code 87070, the typical sites of service where it is performed, and how it relates to adjacent laboratory codes such as urine culture and susceptibility testing. The publication provides benchmarks and coding relationships relevant to billing and claims adjudication, notes common clinical indications for ordering the test, and highlights related laboratory services used in diagnostic workflows. Policy, billing, and clinical audiences will gain a clear reference for where 87070 fits within microbiology service lines and claim submissions.
Data not available in the input that may be relevant for some audiences includes payer-specific reimbursement rates and regional utilization metrics.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 87070 describes a laboratory aerobic culture with isolation and presumptive identification of organisms from clinical specimens other than urine, blood, or stool. The service involves the technical laboratory steps to culture a specimen in the presence of oxygen, isolate the organism present, and perform analysis of the isolate for a presumptive identification.
Service type: Microbiology laboratory culture — aerobic culture with organism isolation and presumptive ID
Typical site of service: Clinical laboratory or hospital laboratory performing microbiology culture services
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National commercial reimbursement for CPT 87070 centers near BUCA’s average commercial rate of $29.00, with notable variation across major carriers. Blue Cross Blue Shield posts a high mean and wide spread, while Aetna and Cigna cluster lower around their medians; UnitedHealth Group sits modestly between those groups. BUCA’s mean of $29.00 serves as an average-commercial benchmark without min/max values.
Examining dispersion (P75 minus P25) reveals Blue Cross Blue Shield as the widest with a range of $22.80 ($53.60 minus $32.80), indicating substantial variability in contract levels. UnitedHealth Group’s spread is narrower at $4.70 ($8.60 minus $3.90), and Aetna and Cigna show intermediate dispersion of $5.90 ($11.90 minus $6.00) and $7.40 ($12.40 minus $5.00), respectively, signaling tighter clustering for UnitedHealth Group and greater volatility for Blue Cross Blue Shield.