healthcosts.net

New Patient Office Visit (level 5) 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

$367.20

Cash price

?

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.

$459.00

Gross charge

?

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.

$165.20 with Aetna vs $376.67 with United Healthcare — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
?

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
?

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
Aetna Medicare Advantage $165.20 ↓ -55%
Molina Medicare Advantage $168.50 ↓ -54%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $168.50 ↓ -54%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $173.46 ↓ -53%
Humana Medicare Advantage $173.46 ↓ -53%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $173.46 ↓ -53%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $257.00 ↓ -30%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $257.00 ↓ -30%
Wellmark UHP Self-Funded Commercial $257.00 ↓ -30%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $279.38 ↓ -24%
Aetna HMO $331.06 ↓ -10%
Aetna PPO $331.06 ↓ -10%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $341.28 ↓ -7%
United Healthcare HMO $376.67 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare PPO $376.67 ↑ +3%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial not published by hospital
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial not published by hospital
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid not published by hospital
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

New Patient Office Visit (level 5) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $367.20 $165.20 – $341.28
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $367.20 $165.20 – $341.28
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $256.80 not published
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $402.00 $102.24 – $402.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $402.00 $93.00 – $488.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $317.20 $165.20 – $549.29
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $402.00 $102.24 – $402.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $317.20 $165.20 – $488.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →