Pretreat rbc w chem/drugs reference 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

$77.70

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$185.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$27.75 with Centene vs $157.25 with MultiPlan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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 $27.75 ↓ -64%
ELAP Commercial|All Plans $51.80 ↓ -33%
Medica Commercial|ACO $52.96 ↓ -32%
Medica Commercial|CHI Health $53.44 ↓ -31%
Medica Commercial|All Other Plans $55.96 ↓ -28%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $56.40 ↓ -27%
Centene Medicaid|IA Total Care $56.40 ↓ -27%
IAMolina Medicaid|All Plans $57.50 ↓ -26%
BCBS - NE Medicare|All Plans $57.89 ↓ -25%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $57.89 ↓ -25%
United Medicare|All Plans $57.89 ↓ -25%
PACE Medicare|All Plans $57.89 ↓ -25%
Medica Medicare|All Plans $57.89 ↓ -25%
Todays Options Medicare|All Plans $59.05 ↓ -24%
Centene Medicare|All Plans $59.63 ↓ -23%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $60.78 ↓ -22%
Great Plains Medicare|All Plans $60.78 ↓ -22%
Creighton University Employees Commercial|All Plans $67.46 ↓ -13%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $85.10 ↑ +10%
United Commercial|All Plans $88.02 ↑ +13%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Premier $96.20 ↑ +24%
Medica Commercial|Open Access $96.20 ↑ +24%
QuikTrip Commercial|All Plans $111.00 ↑ +43%
AMPS Commercial|All Plans $128.52 ↑ +65%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $131.35 ↑ +69%
Midlands Choice Commercial|Standard $138.75 ↑ +79%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $157.25 ↑ +102%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Pretreat rbc w chem/drugs reference at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $81.00 $52.65 – $56.86
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $226.20 $33.96 – $348.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $88.40 $51.41 – $153.08
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $226.20 $33.96 – $348.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $88.40 $51.98 – $136.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $86.45 $26.60 – $133.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $88.40 $70.00 – $142.15
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $348.00 $33.96 – $348.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →