Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs
800 Mercy Drive, Council Bluffs, IA · Chihealth · · NPI 1265517759
$311.22
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$741.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$55.06 with Medica vs $629.85 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medica | Commercial|ACO | $55.06 | ↓ -82% |
| Creighton University Employees | Commercial|All Plans | $62.93 | ↓ -80% |
| Medica | Commercial|CHI Health | $76.77 | ↓ -75% |
| United | Commercial|All Plans | $77.92 | ↓ -75% |
| Medica | Commercial|All Other Plans | $80.39 | ↓ -74% |
| Amerigroup | Medicaid|All Plans | $100.97 | ↓ -68% |
| Centene | Medicaid|IA Total Care | $100.97 | ↓ -68% |
| IAMolina | Medicaid|All Plans | $102.95 | ↓ -67% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $103.63 | ↓ -67% |
| Medica | Medicare|All Plans | $103.63 | ↓ -67% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $103.63 | ↓ -67% |
| PACE | Medicare|All Plans | $103.63 | ↓ -67% |
| BCBS - NE | Medicare|All Plans | $103.63 | ↓ -67% |
| Millard Public Schools | Commercial|Narrow Network | $105.62 | ↓ -66% |
| One World | Commercial|Narrow Network | $105.62 | ↓ -66% |
| Greater Omaha Packing | Commercial|Narrow Network | $105.62 | ↓ -66% |
| Todays Options | Medicare|All Plans | $105.70 | ↓ -66% |
| Centene | Medicare|All Plans | $106.74 | ↓ -66% |
| Great Plains | Medicare|All Plans | $108.81 | ↓ -65% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $108.81 | ↓ -65% |
| Centene | Medicaid|NE Total Care | $111.15 | ↓ -64% |
| Timpte | Commercial|Broad Network | $121.47 | ↓ -61% |
| Millard Public Schools | Commercial|Broad Network | $121.47 | ↓ -61% |
| One World | Commercial|Broad Network | $121.47 | ↓ -61% |
| Greater Omaha Packing | Commercial|Broad Network | $121.47 | ↓ -61% |
| ELAP | Commercial|All Plans | $207.48 | ↓ -33% |
| AMPS | Commercial|All Plans | $230.06 | ↓ -26% |
| United | Medicaid|Community Plan | $340.86 | ↑ +10% |
| Medica | Commercial|Open Access | $385.32 | ↑ +24% |
| Midlands Choice | Commercial|Premier | $385.32 | ↑ +24% |
| QuikTrip | Commercial|All Plans | $444.60 | ↑ +43% |
| PHCS | Commercial|All Plans | $526.11 | ↑ +69% |
| Midlands Choice | Commercial|Standard | $555.75 | ↑ +79% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $629.85 | ↑ +102% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $235.20 | $101.79 – $142.51 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $286.00 | $174.20 – $440.00 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $286.00 | $166.32 – $495.26 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $418.60 | $96.27 – $644.00 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $286.00 | $168.17 – $440.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $1,113.00 | $98.49 – $861.00 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $286.00 | $226.47 – $459.89 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $737.00 | $98.68 – $737.00 |