Assay of prostaglandin at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center
1000 4th St. SW, Mason City, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1467537886
$64.35
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$99.00
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$25.34 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $99.00 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 →
?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $25.34 | ↓ -61% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $25.34 | ↓ -61% |
| IOWA TOTAL CARE | IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID | $40.47 | ↓ -37% |
| MOLINA MEDICAID | MOLINA MEDICAID | $40.87 | ↓ -36% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $40.93 | ↓ -36% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $40.93 | ↓ -36% |
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $40.93 | ↓ -36% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICAID | WELLPOINT MEDICAID | $41.03 | ↓ -36% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $41.34 | ↓ -36% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $41.75 | ↓ -35% |
| SOUTH COUNTRY HEALTH ALLIANCE MEDICARE | SOUTH COUNTRY MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $41.75 | ↓ -35% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $41.77 | ↓ -35% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $41.77 | ↓ -35% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV | $42.19 | ↓ -34% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $42.61 | ↓ -34% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $51.38 | ↓ -20% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $51.98 | ↓ -19% |
| OSCAR | OSCAR | $55.06 | ↓ -14% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $55.55 | ↓ -14% |
| PREFERRED ONE | PREFERRED ONE | $64.35 | ↑ +0% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $66.23 | ↑ +3% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $69.30 | ↑ +8% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $69.30 | ↑ +8% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $69.30 | ↑ +8% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $69.30 | ↑ +8% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $69.30 | ↑ +8% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $69.30 | ↑ +8% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $70.17 | ↑ +9% |
| MHNET | MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES | $79.20 | ↑ +23% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $83.96 | ↑ +30% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $83.96 | ↑ +30% |
| MULTIPLAN | MULTIPLAN | $89.10 | ↑ +38% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $99.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $99.00 | ↑ +54% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $99.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Assay of prostaglandin at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $126.60 | $41.77 – $41.77 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $162.50 | $98.98 – $250.00 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $162.50 | $95.55 – $250.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $150.80 | $40.47 – $232.00 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $250.00 | $68.60 – $250.00 |
| MercyOne Newton Medical Center | Newton | $162.50 | $40.47 – $250.00 |
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center | Davenport | $141.60 | not published |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center | Waterloo | $150.80 | $40.47 – $232.00 |