Microsatellite instability at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center
1000 4th St. SW, Mason City, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1467537886
$552.50
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.
$850.00
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.
$217.60 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $850.00 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 | $217.60 | ↓ -61% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $217.60 | ↓ -61% |
| IOWA TOTAL CARE | IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID | $337.75 | ↓ -39% |
| MOLINA MEDICAID | MOLINA MEDICAID | $341.06 | ↓ -38% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $341.59 | ↓ -38% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $341.59 | ↓ -38% |
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $341.59 | ↓ -38% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICAID | WELLPOINT MEDICAID | $342.39 | ↓ -38% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $345.00 | ↓ -38% |
| SOUTH COUNTRY HEALTH ALLIANCE MEDICARE | SOUTH COUNTRY MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $348.42 | ↓ -37% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $348.42 | ↓ -37% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $348.56 | ↓ -37% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $348.56 | ↓ -37% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV | $352.05 | ↓ -36% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $355.53 | ↓ -36% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $428.73 | ↓ -22% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $446.25 | ↓ -19% |
| OSCAR | OSCAR | $459.44 | ↓ -17% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $463.58 | ↓ -16% |
| PREFERRED ONE | PREFERRED ONE | $552.50 | ↑ +0% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $568.65 | ↑ +3% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $585.58 | ↑ +6% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $595.00 | ↑ +8% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $595.00 | ↑ +8% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $595.00 | ↑ +8% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $595.00 | ↑ +8% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $595.00 | ↑ +8% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $595.00 | ↑ +8% |
| MHNET | MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATES | $680.00 | ↑ +23% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $700.61 | ↑ +27% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $700.61 | ↑ +27% |
| MULTIPLAN | MULTIPLAN | $765.00 | ↑ +38% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $850.00 | ↑ +54% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $850.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $850.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Microsatellite instability at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $552.50 | $311.10 – $850.00 |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $552.50 | $170.85 – $850.00 |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center | Waterloo | $552.50 | $199.75 – $948.49 |
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $697.60 | $197.01 – $488.01 |
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $697.60 | $3.50 – $488.01 |
| UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center | Grinnell | $697.60 | $132.17 – $365.99 |
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $697.60 | $109.59 – $488.01 |
| UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center | Anamosa | $697.60 | $166.39 – $371.01 |