Dstrj nulyt agt gnclr nrv at UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital

1200 Pleasant St, Des Moines, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1356433049

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 28, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$3,711.53

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.

$4,639.41

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.

$133.88 with Aetna vs $4,489.44 with Aetna — 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
Aetna Medicare Advantage $133.88 ↓ -96%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $136.56 ↓ -96%
Molina Medicare Advantage $136.56 ↓ -96%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $140.57 ↓ -96%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $140.57 ↓ -96%
Humana Medicare Advantage $140.57 ↓ -96%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $283.00 ↓ -92%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $283.00 ↓ -92%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $295.90 ↓ -92%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $333.00 ↓ -91%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $355.18 ↓ -90%
United Healthcare PPO $464.43 ↓ -87%
United Healthcare HMO $464.43 ↓ -87%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $1,215.53 ↓ -67%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $1,363.99 ↓ -63%
Aetna HMO $3,920.05 ↑ +6%
Aetna PPO $4,489.44 ↑ +21%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid not published by hospital
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Dstrj nulyt agt gnclr nrv at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $4,372.55 $901.49 – $4,485.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $7,528.59 $0.96 – $413.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $2,149.55 $518.18 – $3,773.24
MercyOne Centerville Medical Center Centerville $6,407.00 $113.33 – $413.00
MercyOne Newton Medical Center Newton $5,709.33 $1,848.37 – $4,271.00
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $2,150.20 $42.50 – $3,773.24
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $3,576.45 $133.88 – $2,355.99
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $3,583.28 $133.88 – $3,583.28

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →