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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center
250 Mercy Drive, Dubuque, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1659348506
$4,841.20
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$7,448.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$312.99 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $7,448.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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 →
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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 ?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 | $312.99 | ↓ -94% |
| MOLINA MEDICAID | MOLINA MEDICAID | $316.06 | ↓ -93% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICAID | WELLPOINT MEDICAID | $317.28 | ↓ -93% |
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $339.87 | ↓ -93% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $339.87 | ↓ -93% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $339.87 | ↓ -93% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $343.27 | ↓ -93% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $346.67 | ↓ -93% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV | $350.27 | ↓ -93% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $353.74 | ↓ -93% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $461.25 | ↓ -90% |
| OSCAR | OSCAR | $473.11 | ↓ -90% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $543.10 | ↓ -89% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $582.63 | ↓ -88% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $697.08 | ↓ -86% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $697.08 | ↓ -86% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $828.97 | ↓ -83% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $828.97 | ↓ -83% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $1,399.00 | ↓ -71% |
| PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICE | PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICES | $2,658.94 | ↓ -45% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE EAGLE WINDOW AND DOOR | $4,319.84 | ↓ -11% |
| WPS | WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES | $4,461.35 | ↓ -8% |
| THE ALLIANCE | THE ALLIANCE | $4,499.34 | ↓ -7% |
| MHNET | MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES | $5,958.40 | ↑ +23% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $6,181.84 | ↑ +28% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $6,219.08 | ↑ +28% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| UNITY | UNITY HMO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| MULTIPLAN | MULTIPLAN | $6,703.20 | ↑ +38% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $7,448.00 | ↑ +54% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $7,448.00 | ↑ +54% |
| STEPHENSON CTY HEALTH | STEPHENSON COUNTY HEALTH | $7,448.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $7,448.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $2,707.98 | $100.51 – $2,707.98 |
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $5,340.27 | $100.51 – $1,962.55 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $2,525.67 | $100.51 – $1,663.78 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $2,162.40 | $341.85 – $478.59 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $3,803.15 | $2,316.41 – $5,851.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $4,882.80 | $321.26 – $7,512.00 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $3,803.15 | $2,236.25 – $5,851.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $3,307.20 | $328.68 – $5,088.00 |