Echo tee guidance at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center
1000 4th St. SW, Mason City, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1467537886
$1,804.40
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.
$2,776.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$710.66 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $2,776.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $710.66 | ↓ -61% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $710.66 | ↓ -61% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $974.00 | ↓ -46% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $974.00 | ↓ -46% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $1,457.40 | ↓ -19% |
| PREFERRED ONE | PREFERRED ONE | $1,804.40 | ↑ +0% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $1,857.14 | ↑ +3% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,943.20 | ↑ +8% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,943.20 | ↑ +8% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,943.20 | ↑ +8% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,943.20 | ↑ +8% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,943.20 | ↑ +8% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,943.20 | ↑ +8% |
| MHNET | MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES | $2,220.80 | ↑ +23% |
| MULTIPLAN | MULTIPLAN | $2,498.40 | ↑ +38% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $2,776.00 | ↑ +54% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $2,776.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $2,776.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Echo tee guidance at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $1,652.30 | $505.00 – $2,542.00 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $2,776.00 | $530.00 – $2,776.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $2,238.71 | $203.16 – $1,474.75 |
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $1,917.87 | $203.16 – $1,917.86 |
| UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center | Grinnell | $517.60 | $203.16 – $533.16 |
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $2,203.11 | $203.16 – $809.64 |
| UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center | Anamosa | $517.60 | $203.16 – $533.16 |
| UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown | Marshalltown | $2,238.71 | $203.16 – $1,343.22 |