Observation direct referral from physician office for admission at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs
800 Mercy Drive, Council Bluffs, IA · Chihealth · · NPI 1265517759
$273.42
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.
$651.00
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.
$97.65 with Centene vs $1,326.45 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centene | Medicaid|NE Total Care | $97.65 | ↓ -64% |
| ELAP | Commercial|All Plans | $182.28 | ↓ -33% |
| United | Medicaid|Community Plan | $299.46 | ↑ +10% |
| QuikTrip | Commercial|All Plans | $390.60 | ↑ +43% |
| Creighton University Employees | Commercial|All Plans | $423.15 | ↑ +55% |
| PHCS | Commercial|All Plans | $462.21 | ↑ +69% |
| United | Commercial|All Plans | $481.74 | ↑ +76% |
| Midlands Choice | Commercial|Standard | $488.25 | ↑ +79% |
| Midlands Choice | Commercial|Premier | $488.25 | ↑ +79% |
| Medica | Commercial|Open Access | $488.25 | ↑ +79% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $553.35 | ↑ +102% |
| Amerigroup | Medicaid|All Plans | $582.09 | ↑ +113% |
| Centene | Medicaid|IA Total Care | $582.09 | ↑ +113% |
| IAMolina | Medicaid|All Plans | $593.51 | ↑ +117% |
| BCBS - NE | Medicare|All Plans | $597.50 | ↑ +119% |
| Medica | Medicare|All Plans | $597.50 | ↑ +119% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $597.50 | ↑ +119% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $597.50 | ↑ +119% |
| PACE | Medicare|All Plans | $597.50 | ↑ +119% |
| Todays Options | Medicare|All Plans | $609.45 | ↑ +123% |
| Centene | Medicare|All Plans | $615.42 | ↑ +125% |
| Great Plains | Medicare|All Plans | $627.38 | ↑ +129% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $627.38 | ↑ +129% |
| AMPS | Commercial|All Plans | $1,326.45 | ↑ +385% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Observation direct referral from physician office for admission at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $135.60 | $146.90 – $586.87 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $291.85 | $160.29 – $5,390.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $432.90 | $188.48 – $3,077.00 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $150.15 | $88.29 – $231.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $857.35 | $141.15 – $6,171.00 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $195.00 | $39.20 – $4,658.00 |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $134.55 | $41.61 – $4,658.00 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $231.00 | $63.39 – $231.00 |