Ultrasound exam k transpl w/doppler 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

$830.83

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.

$1,038.53

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.

$33.15 with Aetna vs $305.33 with Medica Exchange Insure — 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
Aetna Medicare Advantage $33.15 ↓ -96%
Molina Medicare Advantage $33.81 ↓ -96%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $33.81 ↓ -96%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $34.81 ↓ -96%
Humana Medicare Advantage $34.81 ↓ -96%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $34.81 ↓ -96%
United Healthcare PPO $48.65 ↓ -94%
United Healthcare HMO $48.65 ↓ -94%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $63.40 ↓ -92%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $63.40 ↓ -92%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $69.56 ↓ -92%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $69.85 ↓ -92%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $74.60 ↓ -91%
Aetna HMO $80.40 ↓ -90%
Aetna PPO $92.48 ↓ -89%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $102.46 ↓ -88%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $102.46 ↓ -88%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $272.09 ↓ -67%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $305.33 ↓ -63%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Ultrasound exam k transpl w/doppler at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $969.80 $98.68 – $1,492.00
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $1,492.00 $98.68 – $1,492.00
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center Mason City $936.00 $101.16 – $1,440.00
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $813.80 $98.49 – $1,252.00
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $724.17 $33.15 – $477.05
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $283.20 $33.15 – $230.06
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $667.64 $33.15 – $336.32
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $478.71 $33.15 – $530.76

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →