Assay of urine sulfate at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
1111 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · Nonprofit · NPI 1234567893
$22.75
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.
$35.00
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.
$5.32 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $35.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IOWA TOTAL CARE | IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID | $5.32 | ↓ -77% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $5.38 | ↓ -76% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $5.38 | ↓ -76% |
| MOLINA MEDICAID | MOLINA MEDICAID | $5.38 | ↓ -76% |
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $5.38 | ↓ -76% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICAID | WELLPOINT MEDICAID | $5.40 | ↓ -76% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $5.43 | ↓ -76% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $5.49 | ↓ -76% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE OPTIONS | $5.49 | ↓ -76% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $5.49 | ↓ -76% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $5.49 | ↓ -76% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $5.60 | ↓ -75% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $7.04 | ↓ -69% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $7.04 | ↓ -69% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $7.30 | ↓ -68% |
| OSCAR | OSCAR | $7.80 | ↓ -66% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $7.92 | ↓ -65% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $9.22 | ↓ -59% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $11.03 | ↓ -52% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $11.03 | ↓ -52% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $12.15 | ↓ -47% |
| CIGNA EAP | CIGNA | $21.00 | ↓ -8% |
| CIGNA | CIGNA | $21.00 | ↓ -8% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $22.23 | ↓ -2% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $22.75 | ↑ +0% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $22.75 | ↑ +0% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $22.75 | ↑ +0% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $22.75 | ↑ +0% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $29.05 | ↑ +28% |
| USA MANAGED CARE | USA MANAGED CARE | $29.75 | ↑ +31% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $35.00 | ↑ +54% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $35.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $35.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Assay of urine sulfate at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $25.72 | $3.29 – $9.45 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $22.75 | $5.32 – $35.00 |
| MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center | Mason City | $22.75 | $5.32 – $35.00 |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center | Waterloo | $40.30 | $5.32 – $62.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $25.72 | $3.29 – $16.94 |
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $25.72 | $3.29 – $25.71 |
| UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center | Grinnell | $25.72 | $3.29 – $12.95 |
| UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center | Anamosa | $25.72 | $3.29 – $28.51 |