Partial removal of foot bone 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

$1,521.60

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.

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

$1,902.00

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.

$399.99 with Aetna vs $2,853.85 with Iowa Total Care — 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
Aetna Medicare Advantage $399.99 ↓ -74%
Molina Medicare Advantage $407.99 ↓ -73%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $407.99 ↓ -73%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $419.99 ↓ -72%
Humana Medicare Advantage $419.99 ↓ -72%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $419.99 ↓ -72%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $807.41 ↓ -47%
Wellmark UHP Self-Funded Commercial $852.90 ↓ -44%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $852.90 ↓ -44%
Aetna HMO $952.95 ↓ -37%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $1,003.40 ↓ -34%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $1,065.86 ↓ -30%
Aetna PPO $1,159.33 ↓ -24%
United Healthcare HMO $1,357.17 ↓ -11%
United Healthcare PPO $1,357.17 ↓ -11%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $2,853.85 ↑ +88%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $2,853.85 ↑ +88%
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Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Partial removal of foot bone at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $24,404.99 $65.31 – $7,001.93
MercyOne Centerville Medical Center Centerville $8,216.58 $3.36 – $1,515.00
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $21,789.93 $2.28 – $6,322.47
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1,521.60 $399.99 – $2,689.38
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $1,521.60 $399.99 – $2,852.76
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $1,521.60 $399.99 – $3,228.27
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $1,521.60 $399.99 – $3,126.02
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $1,521.60 $399.99 – $1,065.86

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →