Chest X-ray (single view) 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

$143.64

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.

$342.00

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.

$32.36 with Medica vs $278.80 with MultiPlan — 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
Medica Commercial|ACO $32.36 ↓ -77%
Centene Medicaid|NE Total Care $49.20 ↓ -66%
Medica Commercial|CHI Health $49.82 ↓ -65%
Medica Commercial|All Other Plans $52.17 ↓ -64%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $83.59 ↓ -42%
Centene Medicaid|IA Total Care $83.59 ↓ -42%
IAMolina Medicaid|All Plans $85.23 ↓ -41%
Medica Medicare|All Plans $85.81 ↓ -40%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $85.81 ↓ -40%
United Medicare|All Plans $85.81 ↓ -40%
PACE Medicare|All Plans $85.81 ↓ -40%
BCBS - NE Medicare|All Plans $85.81 ↓ -40%
Todays Options Medicare|All Plans $87.53 ↓ -39%
Centene Medicare|All Plans $88.38 ↓ -38%
Great Plains Medicare|All Plans $90.10 ↓ -37%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $90.10 ↓ -37%
ELAP Commercial|All Plans $91.84 ↓ -36%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $150.88 ↑ +5%
Medica Commercial|Open Access $170.56 ↑ +19%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Premier $170.56 ↑ +19%
AMPS Commercial|All Plans $190.50 ↑ +33%
QuikTrip Commercial|All Plans $196.80 ↑ +37%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $232.88 ↑ +62%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Standard $246.00 ↑ +71%
Creighton University Employees Commercial|All Plans $246.00 ↑ +71%
United Commercial|All Plans $246.00 ↑ +71%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $278.80 ↑ +94%

Visitor-reported prices

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Chest X-ray (single view) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $117.60 $84.28 – $118.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $167.70 $102.14 – $258.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $167.70 $97.52 – $290.40
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $167.70 $98.61 – $258.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $167.70 $132.79 – $269.66
MercyOne Centerville Medical Center Centerville $605.00 $5.33 – $258.00
MercyOne Newton Medical Center Newton $593.00 $82.37 – $258.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $129.00 $84.28 – $118.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →