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Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with and without 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

$4,609.15

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.

$7,091.00

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.

$312.99 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $7,091.00 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 →

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 TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $312.99 ↓ -93%
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 ↓ -92%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $350.27 ↓ -92%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $353.74 ↓ -92%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $461.25 ↓ -90%
OSCAR OSCAR $473.11 ↓ -90%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $543.10 ↓ -88%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $582.63 ↓ -87%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $697.08 ↓ -85%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $697.08 ↓ -85%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $828.97 ↓ -82%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $828.97 ↓ -82%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $1,399.00 ↓ -70%
PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICE PREFERRED HEALTH CHOICES $2,531.49 ↓ -45%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE EAGLE WINDOW AND DOOR $4,112.78 ↓ -11%
WPS WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES $4,247.51 ↓ -8%
THE ALLIANCE THE ALLIANCE $4,283.67 ↓ -7%
MHNET MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES $5,672.80 ↑ +23%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $5,885.53 ↑ +28%
WEBTPA AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
COVENTRY AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
AETNA AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
MERITAIN AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
AETNA EAP AETNA $5,920.99 ↑ +28%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
UNITY UNITY HMO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $6,381.90 ↑ +38%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $7,091.00 ↑ +54%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $7,091.00 ↑ +54%
STEPHENSON CTY HEALTH STEPHENSON COUNTY HEALTH $7,091.00 ↑ +54%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $7,091.00 ↑ +54%

Visitor-reported prices

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Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $2,741.24 $100.51 – $2,741.23
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $5,086.24 $100.51 – $1,869.19
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $2,532.20 $100.51 – $1,668.08
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $4,634.50 $2,822.77 – $7,130.00
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $3,595.15 $321.26 – $5,531.00
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $4,310.80 $329.29 – $6,632.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $2,162.40 $341.85 – $478.59
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $4,634.50 $2,725.09 – $7,130.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →