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Colonoscopy (with polyp removal) at UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital
1200 Pleasant St, Des Moines, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1356433049
$1,096.80
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.
$1,371.00
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.
$226.39 with Aetna vs $1,135.99 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 | $226.39 | ↓ -79% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $230.92 | ↓ -79% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $230.92 | ↓ -79% |
| Amerivantage | Medicare Advantage | $237.71 | ↓ -78% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $237.71 | ↓ -78% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $237.71 | ↓ -78% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO | $482.00 | ↓ -56% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $482.00 | ↓ -56% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $567.00 | ↓ -48% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $574.03 | ↓ -48% |
| Cigna/Midlands | Commercial | $605.71 | ↓ -45% |
| Aetna | HMO | $678.17 | ↓ -38% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $803.60 | ↓ -27% |
| United Healthcare | PPO | $803.60 | ↓ -27% |
| Aetna | PPO | $825.61 | ↓ -25% |
| Amerigroup | Managed Medicaid | $1,135.99 | ↑ +4% |
| Iowa Total Care | Managed Medicaid | $1,135.99 | ↑ +4% |
| Medica Exchange Insure | Commercial | not published by hospital | — |
| Medica Exchange Inspire | Commercial | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Colonoscopy (with polyp removal) at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $15,935.60 | $31.45 – $2,323.17 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $1,096.80 | $226.39 – $977.31 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $359.40 | not published |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $4,950.04 | $4.50 – $2,391.00 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $5,306.53 | $2.46 – $1,672.00 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $5,069.38 | $4.50 – $1,882.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $10,754.67 | $2.28 – $2,560.76 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $10,066.00 | $4.77 – $1,747.57 |