Fern test at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
1111 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · Nonprofit · NPI 1234567893
$204.75
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$315.00
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$9.55 with MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS vs $315.00 with CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE — 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 →
?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $9.55 | ↓ -95% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $9.55 | ↓ -95% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $9.55 | ↓ -95% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $9.64 | ↓ -95% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $9.74 | ↓ -95% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $9.74 | ↓ -95% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE OPTIONS | $9.74 | ↓ -95% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $9.74 | ↓ -95% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $9.93 | ↓ -95% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $12.95 | ↓ -94% |
| OSCAR | OSCAR | $13.84 | ↓ -93% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $14.05 | ↓ -93% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $16.36 | ↓ -92% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $19.58 | ↓ -90% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $19.58 | ↓ -90% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $63.32 | ↓ -69% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $63.32 | ↓ -69% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $109.31 | ↓ -47% |
| CIGNA | CIGNA | $189.00 | ↓ -8% |
| CIGNA EAP | CIGNA | $189.00 | ↓ -8% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $200.03 | ↓ -2% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $204.75 | ↑ +0% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $204.75 | ↑ +0% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $204.75 | ↑ +0% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $204.75 | ↑ +0% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $261.45 | ↑ +28% |
| USA MANAGED CARE | USA MANAGED CARE | $267.75 | ↑ +31% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $315.00 | ↑ +54% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $315.00 | ↑ +54% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $315.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Fern test at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $56.44 | $9.74 – $25.32 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $25.20 | not published |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $39.65 | $9.55 – $61.00 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $40.95 | $23.81 – $70.91 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $39.65 | $9.55 – $61.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $55.25 | $9.55 – $85.00 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $40.95 | $32.43 – $65.85 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $315.00 | $9.55 – $315.00 |