Middle cerebral artery echo 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

$168.00

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.

$400.00

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.

$60.00 with Centene vs $340.00 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
Centene Medicaid|NE Total Care $60.00 ↓ -64%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $100.97 ↓ -40%
Centene Medicaid|IA Total Care $100.97 ↓ -40%
IAMolina Medicaid|All Plans $102.95 ↓ -39%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $103.63 ↓ -38%
Medica Medicare|All Plans $103.63 ↓ -38%
United Medicare|All Plans $103.63 ↓ -38%
PACE Medicare|All Plans $103.63 ↓ -38%
BCBS - NE Medicare|All Plans $103.63 ↓ -38%
Medica Commercial|ACO $105.50 ↓ -37%
Todays Options Medicare|All Plans $105.70 ↓ -37%
Centene Medicare|All Plans $106.74 ↓ -36%
Great Plains Medicare|All Plans $108.81 ↓ -35%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $108.81 ↓ -35%
ELAP Commercial|All Plans $112.00 ↓ -33%
Creighton University Employees Commercial|All Plans $152.14 ↓ -9%
Medica Commercial|CHI Health $172.11 ↑ +2%
Medica Commercial|All Other Plans $180.23 ↑ +7%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $184.00 ↑ +10%
United Commercial|All Plans $188.37 ↑ +12%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Premier $208.00 ↑ +24%
Medica Commercial|Open Access $208.00 ↑ +24%
AMPS Commercial|All Plans $230.06 ↑ +37%
QuikTrip Commercial|All Plans $240.00 ↑ +43%
Millard Public Schools Commercial|Narrow Network $261.47 ↑ +56%
One World Commercial|Narrow Network $261.47 ↑ +56%
Greater Omaha Packing Commercial|Narrow Network $261.47 ↑ +56%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $284.00 ↑ +69%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Standard $300.00 ↑ +79%
Millard Public Schools Commercial|Broad Network $300.69 ↑ +79%
One World Commercial|Broad Network $300.69 ↑ +79%
Greater Omaha Packing Commercial|Broad Network $300.69 ↑ +79%
Timpte Commercial|Broad Network $300.69 ↑ +79%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $340.00 ↑ +102%

Visitor-reported prices

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Middle cerebral artery echo at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $360.75 $21.30 – $555.00
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center Mason City $260.65 $21.09 – $401.00
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $471.25 $21.30 – $514.75
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $287.23 $30.91 – $189.21
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $208.00 $30.91 – $93.50
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $208.00 $30.91 – $105.81
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $682.71 $30.91 – $250.89
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $208.00 $30.91 – $65.71

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →