Sodium chloride 0.9 % IV bolus at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
1111 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · Nonprofit · NPI 1234567893
$33.00
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.
$33.00
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.
$3.27 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $16.25 with CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE — 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 | $3.27 | ↓ -90% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $3.27 | ↓ -90% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $5.64 | ↓ -83% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE OPTIONS | $9.02 | ↓ -73% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $9.75 | ↓ -70% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $9.75 | ↓ -70% |
| CIGNA EAP | CIGNA | $9.75 | ↓ -70% |
| CIGNA | CIGNA | $9.75 | ↓ -70% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $10.32 | ↓ -69% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $10.56 | ↓ -68% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $10.56 | ↓ -68% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $10.56 | ↓ -68% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $10.56 | ↓ -68% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $13.49 | ↓ -59% |
| USA MANAGED CARE | USA MANAGED CARE | $13.81 | ↓ -58% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $16.25 | ↓ -51% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $16.25 | ↓ -51% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $16.25 | ↓ -51% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Sodium chloride 0.9 % IV bolus at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $48.00 | $0.51 – $17.64 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $34.50 | $6.93 – $17.50 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $20.00 | $4.35 – $12.94 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $34.50 | $3.89 – $13.75 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $34.50 | $5.26 – $13.75 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $34.50 | $3.23 – $13.75 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $17.50 | $7.08 – $14.37 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $33.00 | $2.76 – $13.75 |