Cornea pre-cut midwest eye cornea pre-cut midwest eye 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

$5,705.60

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$8,777.85

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$99.20 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $387.50 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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 →

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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $99.20 ↓ -98%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $99.20 ↓ -98%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
AETNA EAP AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
AETNA AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
COVENTRY AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
MERITAIN AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
WEBTPA AETNA $203.44 ↓ -96%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $232.50 ↓ -96%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $232.50 ↓ -96%
PREFERRED ONE PREFERRED ONE $251.88 ↓ -96%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $259.24 ↓ -95%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $271.25 ↓ -95%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $271.25 ↓ -95%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $271.25 ↓ -95%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $271.25 ↓ -95%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $271.25 ↓ -95%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $271.25 ↓ -95%
MHNET MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES $310.00 ↓ -95%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $348.75 ↓ -94%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $387.50 ↓ -93%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $387.50 ↓ -93%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $387.50 ↓ -93%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Cornea pre-cut midwest eye cornea pre-cut midwest eye at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $5,705.60 $139.23 – $513.90
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $5,421.00 $153.41 – $387.50
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $5,705.60 $146.48 – $436.17
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $5,705.60 $109.66 – $387.50
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $5,705.60 $149.06 – $390.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $5,705.60 $94.00 – $400.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $5,705.60 $200.73 – $407.63
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $8,777.85 $78.39 – $390.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →