Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital
1200 Pleasant St, Des Moines, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1356433049
$1,822.64
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.
$2,278.30
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.
$95.71 with Aetna vs $903.29 with Iowa Total Care — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $95.71 | ↓ -95% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $97.62 | ↓ -95% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $97.62 | ↓ -95% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $100.50 | ↓ -94% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $100.50 | ↓ -94% |
| Amerivantage | Medicare Advantage | $100.50 | ↓ -94% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO | $202.20 | ↓ -89% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $202.20 | ↓ -89% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $215.33 | ↓ -88% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $237.80 | ↓ -87% |
| Aetna | HMO | $243.92 | ↓ -87% |
| Cigna/Midlands | Commercial | $254.37 | ↓ -86% |
| Aetna | PPO | $297.54 | ↓ -84% |
| United Healthcare | PPO | $343.04 | ↓ -81% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $343.04 | ↓ -81% |
| Medica Exchange Inspire | Commercial | $596.91 | ↓ -67% |
| Medica Exchange Insure | Commercial | $669.82 | ↓ -63% |
| Amerigroup | Managed Medicaid | $903.29 | ↓ -50% |
| Iowa Total Care | Managed Medicaid | $903.29 | ↓ -50% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $6,659.90 | $29.61 – $10,246.00 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $912.60 | $897.45 – $988.65 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $1,042.60 | $572.63 – $1,812.24 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $391.00 | $29.61 – $225.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $1,661.13 | $663.07 – $2,343.00 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $1,333.80 | $1,056.16 – $2,144.75 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $10,246.00 | $29.61 – $10,246.00 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $2,052.00 | $563.07 – $2,052.00 |