Liver imaging 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

$357.42

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.

$851.00

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.

$127.65 with Centene vs $1,164.57 with AMPS — 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 $127.65 ↓ -64%
ELAP Commercial|All Plans $238.28 ↓ -33%
Medica Commercial|ACO $295.30 ↓ -17%
Medica Commercial|CHI Health $340.93 ↓ -5%
Medica Commercial|All Other Plans $357.01 ↓ -0%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $391.46 ↑ +10%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Premier $442.52 ↑ +24%
Medica Commercial|Open Access $442.52 ↑ +24%
Creighton University Employees Commercial|All Plans $462.05 ↑ +29%
QuikTrip Commercial|All Plans $510.60 ↑ +43%
Centene Medicaid|IA Total Care $511.05 ↑ +43%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $511.05 ↑ +43%
IAMolina Medicaid|All Plans $521.07 ↑ +46%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $524.58 ↑ +47%
Medica Medicare|All Plans $524.58 ↑ +47%
United Medicare|All Plans $524.58 ↑ +47%
PACE Medicare|All Plans $524.58 ↑ +47%
BCBS - NE Medicare|All Plans $524.58 ↑ +47%
Todays Options Medicare|All Plans $535.07 ↑ +50%
Centene Medicare|All Plans $540.32 ↑ +51%
Great Plains Medicare|All Plans $550.81 ↑ +54%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $550.81 ↑ +54%
United Commercial|All Plans $572.09 ↑ +60%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $604.21 ↑ +69%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Standard $638.25 ↑ +79%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $723.35 ↑ +102%
Greater Omaha Packing Commercial|Narrow Network $792.60 ↑ +122%
Millard Public Schools Commercial|Narrow Network $792.60 ↑ +122%
One World Commercial|Narrow Network $792.60 ↑ +122%
One World Commercial|Broad Network $851.00 ↑ +138%
Timpte Commercial|Broad Network $851.00 ↑ +138%
Greater Omaha Packing Commercial|Broad Network $851.00 ↑ +138%
Millard Public Schools Commercial|Broad Network $851.00 ↑ +138%
AMPS Commercial|All Plans $1,164.57 ↑ +226%

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Liver imaging at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $417.60 $18.66 – $446.16
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $417.60 $18.66 – $473.26
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $417.60 $18.66 – $535.56
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $1,424.90 $18.66 – $523.65
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $417.60 $18.66 – $42.60
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $417.60 $18.66 – $523.79
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City $417.60 $16.38 – $476.70
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf $417.60 $18.66 – $463.18

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →