Barrier film 1.0ml wipe at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center

1000 4th St. SW, Mason City, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1467537886

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

$0.23

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.

$0.35

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.

$0.09 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $0.35 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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $0.09 ↓ -61%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $0.09 ↓ -61%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
AETNA EAP AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
AETNA AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
COVENTRY AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
MERITAIN AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
WEBTPA AETNA $0.18 ↓ -22%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $0.21 ↓ -9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $0.21 ↓ -9%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $0.23 ↑ +0%
PREFERRED ONE PREFERRED ONE $0.23 ↑ +0%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.25 ↑ +9%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.25 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.25 ↑ +9%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.25 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.25 ↑ +9%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.25 ↑ +9%
MHNET MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES $0.28 ↑ +22%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $0.32 ↑ +39%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $0.35 ↑ +52%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $0.35 ↑ +52%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $0.35 ↑ +52%

Visitor-reported prices

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Barrier film 1.0ml wipe at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $0.91 $0.71 – $1.40
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo not published $0.17 – $0.78
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque not published $0.17 – $0.78
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell not published $0.17 – $0.78
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines not published $0.17 – $0.78
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa not published $0.17 – $0.78
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown not published $0.17 – $0.78
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City not published $0.17 – $0.78

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →