Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination at UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital
1200 Pleasant St, Des Moines, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1356433049
$942.40
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.
$1,178.00
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.
$130.73 with Aetna vs $787.05 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 | $130.73 | ↓ -86% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $133.34 | ↓ -86% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $133.34 | ↓ -86% |
| Amerivantage | Medicare Advantage | $137.27 | ↓ -85% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $137.27 | ↓ -85% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $137.27 | ↓ -85% |
| United Healthcare | PPO | $146.99 | ↓ -84% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $146.99 | ↓ -84% |
| Cigna/Midlands | Commercial | $171.85 | ↓ -82% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $237.20 | ↓ -75% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO | $237.20 | ↓ -75% |
| Medica Exchange Inspire | Commercial | $257.59 | ↓ -73% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $279.00 | ↓ -70% |
| Medica Exchange Insure | Commercial | $289.05 | ↓ -69% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $396.96 | ↓ -58% |
| Aetna | HMO | $499.92 | ↓ -47% |
| Aetna | PPO | $549.52 | ↓ -42% |
| Amerigroup | Managed Medicaid | $787.05 | ↓ -16% |
| Iowa Total Care | Managed Medicaid | $787.05 | ↓ -16% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $613.60 | $189.74 – $1,564.16 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $138.00 | $104.00 – $781.95 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $624.65 | $85.84 – $1,609.82 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $531.05 | $308.83 – $919.62 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $624.65 | $271.96 – $1,724.12 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $1,232.40 | $445.56 – $1,896.00 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $531.05 | $420.51 – $853.93 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $944.00 | $189.74 – $1,564.16 |