Tee w or without fol w/cont,cong 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

$2,333.50

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.

$3,590.00

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.

$530.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE vs $3,590.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE — 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
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $530.00 ↓ -77%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $530.00 ↓ -77%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE OPTIONS $591.00 ↓ -75%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $721.59 ↓ -69%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $721.59 ↓ -69%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
COVENTRY AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
AETNA AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
MERITAIN AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
WEBTPA AETNA $1,245.73 ↓ -47%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $2,154.00 ↓ -8%
CIGNA CIGNA $2,154.00 ↓ -8%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $2,279.65 ↓ -2%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,333.50 ↑ +0%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,333.50 ↑ +0%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,333.50 ↑ +0%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,333.50 ↑ +0%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $2,979.70 ↑ +28%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $3,051.50 ↑ +31%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $3,590.00 ↑ +54%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $3,590.00 ↑ +54%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $3,590.00 ↑ +54%

Visitor-reported prices

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Tee w or without fol w/cont,cong at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines not published $752.14 – $1,021.23
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1,707.38 $743.00 – $1,380.84
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $1,642.24 $671.27 – $1,642.24
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $1,707.38 $743.00 – $1,703.11
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City $1,711.58 $556.26 – $1,390.66
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf $1,886.08 $743.00 – $1,242.45
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Muscatine Muscatine $1,886.08 $542.25 – $1,289.60
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Regional Medical Center Fort Dodge $1,720.64 $743.00 – $1,828.17

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →