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Blood Culture Test at UnityPoint Health - Trinity Muscatine

1518 Mulberry, Muscatine, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1861444333

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 28, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$38.58

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.

$48.22

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.

$3.50 with BC Illinois Community vs $19.81 with Aetna — 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
BC Illinois Community PPO $3.50 ↓ -91%
United Healthcare HMO $6.19 ↓ -84%
United Healthcare PPO $6.19 ↓ -84%
BC Illinois Community Blue Choice $6.68 ↓ -83%
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $10.32 ↓ -73%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $10.32 ↓ -73%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $10.32 ↓ -73%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $10.32 ↓ -73%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $10.53 ↓ -73%
Health Alliance Medicare Advantage $10.53 ↓ -73%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $10.53 ↓ -73%
Humana Medicare Advantage $10.84 ↓ -72%
Meridian Health Plan Medicare Advantage $10.84 ↓ -72%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $10.84 ↓ -72%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $13.31 ↓ -66%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $13.42 ↓ -65%
Ambetter HMO $16.51 ↓ -57%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $17.65 ↓ -54%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $19.77 ↓ -49%
Aetna HMO $19.81 ↓ -49%
Aetna PPO $19.81 ↓ -49%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid not published by hospital
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Blood Culture Test at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $38.58 $6.19 – $16.06
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $38.58 $6.19 – $25.41
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $183.00 $10.11 – $183.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $100.80 $10.32 – $10.32
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $118.95 $69.17 – $205.98
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $570.00 $10.00 – $93.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $118.95 $94.19 – $191.27
MercyOne Centerville Medical Center Centerville $183.00 $50.22 – $183.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →