MRI without fol w/cont, brst, un at UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital

1026 A Avenue N.E, Cedar Rapids, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1083708226

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 28, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$2,985.25

Cash price

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Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$3,731.56

Gross charge

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Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$337.72 with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield vs $2,044.89 with Cigna/Midlands — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
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Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
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Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $337.72 ↓ -89%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $337.72 ↓ -89%
Molina Medicare Advantage $337.72 ↓ -89%
Humana Medicare Advantage $347.65 ↓ -88%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $347.65 ↓ -88%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $347.65 ↓ -88%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $566.32 ↓ -81%
Aetna HMO $696.89 ↓ -77%
Aetna PPO $724.92 ↓ -76%
United Healthcare HMO $889.13 ↓ -70%
United Healthcare PPO $889.13 ↓ -70%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $1,246.34 ↓ -58%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $1,399.34 ↓ -53%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $2,044.89 ↓ -32%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid not published by hospital
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO not published by hospital
Wellmark UHP Self-Funded Commercial not published by hospital
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid not published by hospital
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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MRI without fol w/cont, brst, un at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center Mason City $1,086.15 $266.26 – $1,671.00
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $2,764.45 $287.91 – $3,019.63
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1,779.08 $335.86 – $1,438.82
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $1,581.32 $348.73 – $1,581.32
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $508.00 $339.99 – $349.99
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $508.00 $339.99 – $461.63
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $508.00 not published
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $1,779.08 $335.86 – $1,774.62

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →