Dextrose 5 % IV bolus at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center
1000 4th St. SW, Mason City, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1467537886
$34.50
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.
$34.50
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.
$4.48 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $17.50 with UNITED HEALTHCARE — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $4.48 | ↓ -87% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $4.48 | ↓ -87% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $9.19 | ↓ -73% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $10.50 | ↓ -70% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $10.50 | ↓ -70% |
| PREFERRED ONE | PREFERRED ONE | $11.38 | ↓ -67% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $11.71 | ↓ -66% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $12.25 | ↓ -64% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $12.25 | ↓ -64% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $12.25 | ↓ -64% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $12.25 | ↓ -64% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $12.25 | ↓ -64% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $12.25 | ↓ -64% |
| MHNET | MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES | $14.00 | ↓ -59% |
| MULTIPLAN | MULTIPLAN | $15.75 | ↓ -54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $17.50 | ↓ -49% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $17.50 | ↓ -49% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $17.50 | ↓ -49% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Dextrose 5 % IV bolus at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $36.74 | not published |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $30.00 | $7.14 – $20.00 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $30.00 | $6.93 – $17.50 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $30.00 | $7.56 – $22.51 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $30.00 | $6.69 – $17.50 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $30.00 | $4.11 – $17.50 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $30.00 | $9.01 – $18.29 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $30.00 | $3.52 – $17.50 |