Biopsy needle lymph node superficial 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

$1,561.30

Cash price

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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.

$2,402.00

Gross charge

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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.

$77.42 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH vs $3,300.04 with NOVA — 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 →

Payer
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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
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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 DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $77.42 ↓ -95%
STEPHENSON CTY HEALTH STEPHENSON COUNTY HEALTH $174.74 ↓ -89%
PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICE PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICES $571.56 ↓ -63%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $585.97 ↓ -62%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE EAGLE WINDOW AND DOOR $928.58 ↓ -41%
WPS WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES $959.00 ↓ -39%
THE ALLIANCE THE ALLIANCE $967.16 ↓ -38%
MHNET MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES $1,280.80 ↓ -18%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $1,328.83 ↓ -15%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
AETNA EAP AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
AETNA AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
WEBTPA AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
COVENTRY AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
MERITAIN AETNA $1,336.84 ↓ -14%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
UNITY UNITY HMO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,440.90 ↓ -8%
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $1,481.73 ↓ -5%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $1,496.26 ↓ -4%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $1,502.07 ↓ -4%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $1,601.00 ↑ +3%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $1,601.00 ↑ +3%
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,608.97 ↑ +3%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,608.97 ↑ +3%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,608.97 ↑ +3%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,625.06 ↑ +4%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,641.15 ↑ +5%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $1,658.23 ↑ +6%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,674.65 ↑ +7%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $2,183.61 ↑ +40%
OSCAR OSCAR $2,239.76 ↑ +43%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $2,571.08 ↑ +65%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $2,758.24 ↑ +77%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $3,300.04 ↑ +111%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $3,300.04 ↑ +111%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy needle lymph node superficial at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $861.13 $77.42 – $1,424.56
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $665.40 $576.55 – $1,550.93
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $3,875.30 $77.42 – $3,974.00
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $2,226.90 $77.42 – $3,206.43
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center Mason City $13,342.76 $77.42 – $8,370.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $768.60 $832.65 – $1,550.93
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $4,282.85 $77.42 – $4,084.56
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $692.88 $77.42 – $1,342.97

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →