healthcosts.net

Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center

250 Mercy Drive, Dubuque, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1659348506

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 31, 2026 · Ingested Aug 3, 2026

$1,578.85

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.

$2,429.00

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.

$157.36 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $2,429.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $157.36 ↓ -90%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $158.90 ↓ -90%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $159.52 ↓ -90%
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $170.87 ↓ -89%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $170.87 ↓ -89%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $170.87 ↓ -89%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $172.58 ↓ -89%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $174.29 ↓ -89%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $176.11 ↓ -89%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $177.85 ↓ -89%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $231.90 ↓ -85%
OSCAR OSCAR $237.86 ↓ -85%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $273.05 ↓ -83%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $292.93 ↓ -81%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $350.47 ↓ -78%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $350.47 ↓ -78%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $405.77 ↓ -74%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $405.77 ↓ -74%
PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICE PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICES $867.15 ↓ -45%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $889.01 ↓ -44%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE EAGLE WINDOW AND DOOR $1,408.82 ↓ -11%
WPS WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES $1,454.97 ↓ -8%
THE ALLIANCE THE ALLIANCE $1,467.36 ↓ -7%
MHNET MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES $1,943.20 ↑ +23%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $2,016.07 ↑ +28%
WEBTPA AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
COVENTRY AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
AETNA AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
MERITAIN AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
AETNA EAP AETNA $2,028.22 ↑ +28%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
UNITY UNITY HMO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $2,186.10 ↑ +38%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $2,429.00 ↑ +54%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $2,429.00 ↑ +54%
STEPHENSON CTY HEALTH STEPHENSON COUNTY HEALTH $2,429.00 ↑ +54%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $2,429.00 ↑ +54%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $1,745.00 $55.55 – $1,744.99
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $2,583.24 $55.55 – $949.34
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1,199.76 $55.55 – $790.34
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $1,311.60 $170.40 – $238.57
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $2,052.70 $161.52 – $3,158.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $1,591.20 $925.34 – $2,755.47
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $1,591.20 $935.63 – $2,448.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $1,914.25 $165.25 – $2,945.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →