Ext ecg>7d<15d scan a/r 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

$425.60

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$532.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$79.16 with Medica Exchange Inspire vs $569.90 with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $79.16 ↓ -81%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $88.82 ↓ -79%
United Healthcare PPO $106.12 ↓ -75%
United Healthcare HMO $106.12 ↓ -75%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $122.71 ↓ -71%
Molina Medicare Advantage $122.71 ↓ -71%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $122.71 ↓ -71%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $124.19 ↓ -71%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $124.19 ↓ -71%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $126.32 ↓ -70%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $126.32 ↓ -70%
Humana Medicare Advantage $126.32 ↓ -70%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $130.82 ↓ -69%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $166.62 ↓ -61%
Aetna HMO $258.76 ↓ -39%
Aetna PPO $296.35 ↓ -30%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $484.40 ↑ +14%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $484.40 ↑ +14%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $569.90 ↑ +34%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Ext ecg>7d<15d scan a/r at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $198.90 $61.51 – $530.00
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf $425.60 $106.12 – $546.81

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →