CT scan for localization at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
1111 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · Nonprofit · NPI 1234567893
$912.60
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.
$1,404.00
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.
$282.20 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $1,404.00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $282.20 | ↓ -69% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $282.20 | ↓ -69% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $487.19 | ↓ -47% |
| CIGNA | CIGNA | $842.40 | ↓ -8% |
| CIGNA EAP | CIGNA | $842.40 | ↓ -8% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $891.54 | ↓ -2% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $912.60 | ↑ +0% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $912.60 | ↑ +0% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $912.60 | ↑ +0% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $912.60 | ↑ +0% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $1,165.32 | ↑ +28% |
| USA MANAGED CARE | USA MANAGED CARE | $1,193.40 | ↑ +31% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $1,404.00 | ↑ +54% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $1,404.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $1,404.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
CT scan for localization at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $2,227.89 | $56.42 – $818.75 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $512.80 | $56.42 – $118.99 |
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $512.80 | $56.42 – $171.12 |
| UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center | Grinnell | $512.80 | $56.42 – $118.99 |
| UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center | Anamosa | $512.80 | $56.42 – $118.99 |
| UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown | Marshalltown | $512.80 | $56.42 – $118.99 |
| UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown | Sioux City | $1,168.53 | $48.36 – $844.26 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf | Bettendorf | $512.80 | $56.42 – $118.99 |