Arthrocentesis/aspiration/injection intermediate joint/bursa without ultrasound guidance right at UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital
1200 Pleasant St, Des Moines, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1356433049
$425.17
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.
$531.46
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.
$33.22 with Aetna vs $284.41 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 | $33.22 | ↓ -92% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $33.88 | ↓ -92% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $33.88 | ↓ -92% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $34.88 | ↓ -92% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $34.88 | ↓ -92% |
| Amerivantage | Medicare Advantage | $34.88 | ↓ -92% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO | $70.60 | ↓ -83% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $70.60 | ↓ -83% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $71.42 | ↓ -83% |
| Aetna | HMO | $81.76 | ↓ -81% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $83.10 | ↓ -80% |
| Cigna/Midlands | Commercial | $88.72 | ↓ -79% |
| Aetna | PPO | $99.17 | ↓ -77% |
| United Healthcare | PPO | $117.42 | ↓ -72% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $117.42 | ↓ -72% |
| Medica Exchange Inspire | Commercial | $139.24 | ↓ -67% |
| Medica Exchange Insure | Commercial | $156.25 | ↓ -63% |
| Amerigroup | Managed Medicaid | $284.41 | ↓ -33% |
| Iowa Total Care | Managed Medicaid | $284.41 | ↓ -33% |
Visitor-reported prices
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Arthrocentesis/aspiration/injection intermediate joint/bursa without ultrasound guidance right at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $724.75 | $10.23 – $743.00 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $301.20 | $282.56 – $326.30 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $974.35 | $9.60 – $999.00 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $103.35 | $40.07 – $119.31 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $454.35 | $10.23 – $656.86 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $268.15 | $10.23 – $79.00 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $1,150.00 | $154.17 – $767.00 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $1,499.00 | $10.23 – $106.00 |