healthcosts.net
Knee Arthroscopy (Meniscus Repair) at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
1111 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · Nonprofit · NPI 1234567893
not published by hospital
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.
not published by hospital
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.
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 |
|---|
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Knee Arthroscopy (Meniscus Repair) at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $2,659.20 | $490.70 – $3,126.02 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $2,440.00 | $25.36 – $195.20 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $20,569.25 | $1.92 – $6,537.75 |
| UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown | Sioux City | $2,659.20 | $432.12 – $2,873.50 |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center | Waterloo | $31,778.88 | $0.96 – $6,322.47 |
| MercyOne Newton Medical Center | Newton | $13,026.95 | $1.92 – $6,352.30 |
| UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital | Cedar Rapids | $2,659.20 | $490.70 – $2,853.85 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center | Davenport | $755.40 | not published |