Cath council tip 16fr 5cc 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

$20.16

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.

$48.00

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.

$2.18 with Centene vs $45.84 with Medica — 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
Centene Medicaid|NE Total Care $2.18 ↓ -89%
ELAP Commercial|All Plans $4.06 ↓ -80%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $6.67 ↓ -67%
QuikTrip Commercial|All Plans $8.70 ↓ -57%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $10.30 ↓ -49%
United Commercial|All Plans $10.73 ↓ -47%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Premier $10.88 ↓ -46%
Medica Commercial|Open Access $10.88 ↓ -46%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Standard $10.88 ↓ -46%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $12.33 ↓ -39%
Medica Commercial|ACO $14.50 ↓ -28%
Medica Commercial|CHI Health $43.77 ↑ +117%
Medica Commercial|All Other Plans $45.84 ↑ +127%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Cath council tip 16fr 5cc at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $40.07 $19.35 – $54.19
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $41.78 $18.97 – $47.92
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $38.93 $20.47 – $60.96
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $38.93 $15.30 – $54.05
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $40.07 $20.70 – $54.16
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $40.07 $12.73 – $54.16
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $40.07 $27.88 – $56.61
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $61.65 $10.89 – $54.16

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →