Unlisted laparoscopic procedure 49659 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

$1,977.60

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.

$2,472.00

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.

$5,554.35 with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield vs $14,198.40 with United Healthcare — 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
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $5,554.35 ↑ +181%
Molina Medicare Advantage $5,554.35 ↑ +181%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $5,554.35 ↑ +181%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $5,621.13 ↑ +184%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $5,621.13 ↑ +184%
Humana Medicare Advantage $5,717.71 ↑ +189%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $5,717.71 ↑ +189%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $5,717.71 ↑ +189%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $7,541.51 ↑ +281%
Aetna HMO $11,712.04 ↑ +492%
Aetna PPO $13,413.23 ↑ +578%
United Healthcare PPO $14,198.40 ↑ +618%
United Healthcare HMO $14,198.40 ↑ +618%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial not published by hospital —
Cigna/Midlands Commercial not published by hospital —
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial not published by hospital —
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial not published by hospital —
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO not published by hospital —
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO not published by hospital —

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Unlisted laparoscopic procedure 49659 at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $3,136.80 not published
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $3,293.40 not published
MercyOne Genesis DeWitt Medical Center DeWitt $3,293.40 $928.00 – $4,006.97
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1,977.60 $4,835.96 – $8,346.96
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $1,977.60 $1,137.12 – $10,654.03
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $1,977.60 $5,554.35 – $5,804.99
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $1,977.60 not published
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $1,977.60 $5,486.87 – $10,253.60

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →