St evaluation swallow function at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center

1111 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · Nonprofit · NPI 1234567893

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 31, 2026 · Ingested Aug 3, 2026

$524.00

Cash price

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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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$524.00

Gross charge

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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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$55.26 with MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS vs $524.00 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 →

Payer
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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
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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 $55.26 ↓ -89%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $55.26 ↓ -89%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $55.26 ↓ -89%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $55.81 ↓ -89%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $56.37 ↓ -89%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $57.52 ↓ -89%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $75.00 ↓ -86%
OSCAR OSCAR $80.13 ↓ -85%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $81.37 ↓ -84%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $94.74 ↓ -82%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $105.32 ↓ -80%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $105.32 ↓ -80%
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $108.13 ↓ -79%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $109.19 ↓ -79%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $109.61 ↓ -79%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $113.34 ↓ -78%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $113.34 ↓ -78%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
AETNA AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
COVENTRY AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
MERITAIN AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
WEBTPA AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $181.83 ↓ -65%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $189.00 ↓ -64%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $189.00 ↓ -64%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE OPTIONS $211.00 ↓ -60%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $314.40 ↓ -40%
CIGNA CIGNA $314.40 ↓ -40%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $332.74 ↓ -37%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $340.60 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $340.60 ↓ -35%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $340.60 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $340.60 ↓ -35%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $434.92 ↓ -17%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $445.40 ↓ -15%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $524.00 ↑ +0%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $524.00 ↑ +0%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $524.00 ↑ +0%

Visitor-reported prices

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St evaluation swallow function at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $387.91 $65.97 – $171.31
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $216.00 $91.47 – $91.47
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $349.05 $55.26 – $276.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $293.15 $178.55 – $451.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $293.15 $170.48 – $507.65
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $182.00 $55.26 – $280.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $293.15 $172.37 – $451.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $217.10 $55.26 – $483.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →