Treat metacarpal fracture at UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital
1200 Pleasant St, Des Moines, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1356433049
$6,377.64
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$7,972.04
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$526.55 with Aetna vs $3,126.02 with Iowa Total Care — 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 →
?
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 | $526.55 | ↓ -92% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $537.08 | ↓ -92% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $537.08 | ↓ -92% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $552.88 | ↓ -91% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $552.88 | ↓ -91% |
| Amerivantage | Medicare Advantage | $552.88 | ↓ -91% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $1,052.60 | ↓ -83% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO | $1,144.20 | ↓ -82% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $1,144.20 | ↓ -82% |
| Aetna | HMO | $1,274.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $1,346.20 | ↓ -79% |
| Cigna/Midlands | Commercial | $1,396.66 | ↓ -78% |
| Aetna | PPO | $1,550.71 | ↓ -76% |
| United Healthcare | PPO | $1,767.56 | ↓ -72% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $1,767.56 | ↓ -72% |
| Medica Exchange Inspire | Commercial | $2,088.67 | ↓ -67% |
| Medica Exchange Insure | Commercial | $2,343.78 | ↓ -63% |
| Amerigroup | Managed Medicaid | $3,126.02 | ↓ -51% |
| Iowa Total Care | Managed Medicaid | $3,126.02 | ↓ -51% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Treat metacarpal fracture at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $27,149.40 | $0.96 – $6,352.30 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $1,999.00 | $174.66 – $1,311.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $41,265.16 | $10.92 – $6,322.47 |
| MercyOne Newton Medical Center | Newton | $1,999.00 | $174.66 – $1,311.00 |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center | Waterloo | $37,550.16 | $4.56 – $6,322.47 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $1,414.40 | $526.55 – $2,689.38 |
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $1,414.40 | $526.55 – $2,852.76 |
| UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center | Grinnell | $1,414.40 | $526.55 – $3,228.27 |