Autologous blood op salvage at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs

800 Mercy Drive, Council Bluffs, IA · Chihealth · · NPI 1265517759

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 16, 2026

$643.02

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.

$1,531.00

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.

$229.65 with Centene vs $1,767.39 with AMPS — 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
Centene Medicaid|NE Total Care $229.65 ↓ -64%
Medica Commercial|ACO $254.75 ↓ -60%
Medica Commercial|CHI Health $256.98 ↓ -60%
Medica Commercial|All Other Plans $269.10 ↓ -58%
Creighton University Employees Commercial|All Plans $324.67 ↓ -50%
United Commercial|All Plans $423.63 ↓ -34%
ELAP Commercial|All Plans $428.68 ↓ -33%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $704.26 ↑ +10%
Centene Medicaid|IA Total Care $775.60 ↑ +21%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $775.60 ↑ +21%
IAMolina Medicaid|All Plans $790.81 ↑ +23%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $796.12 ↑ +24%
Medica Medicare|All Plans $796.12 ↑ +24%
Medica Commercial|Open Access $796.12 ↑ +24%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Premier $796.12 ↑ +24%
United Medicare|All Plans $796.12 ↑ +24%
PACE Medicare|All Plans $796.12 ↑ +24%
BCBS - NE Medicare|All Plans $796.12 ↑ +24%
Todays Options Medicare|All Plans $812.04 ↑ +26%
Centene Medicare|All Plans $820.00 ↑ +28%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $835.93 ↑ +30%
Great Plains Medicare|All Plans $835.93 ↑ +30%
QuikTrip Commercial|All Plans $918.60 ↑ +43%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $1,087.01 ↑ +69%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Standard $1,148.25 ↑ +79%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,301.35 ↑ +102%
AMPS Commercial|All Plans $1,767.39 ↑ +175%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Autologous blood op salvage at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $786.52 $79.34 – $790.84
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $786.52 $79.34 – $907.18
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $786.52 $79.34 – $812.79
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $786.52 $79.34 – $800.57
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $786.52 $79.34 – $872.05
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $786.52 $79.34 – $794.93
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City $786.52 $64.22 – $835.92
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf $786.52 $79.34 – $1,205.09

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →