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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center

308 North Maple Ave, New Hampton, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1770651515

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 31, 2026 · Ingested Aug 3, 2026

$2,598.70

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.

$3,998.00

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.

$1,582.81 with BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE vs $3,998.00 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 →

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
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,582.81 ↓ -39%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,599.20 ↓ -38%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $1,615.19 ↓ -38%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,631.18 ↓ -37%
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,684.76 ↓ -35%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,695.15 ↓ -35%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,785.91 ↓ -31%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $2,018.99 ↓ -22%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $2,018.99 ↓ -22%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $2,126.94 ↓ -18%
OSCAR OSCAR $2,350.82 ↓ -10%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $2,398.80 ↓ -8%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $2,398.80 ↓ -8%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $2,686.66 ↑ +3%
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $2,732.23 ↑ +5%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $2,772.41 ↑ +7%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $2,785.81 ↑ +7%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $3,214.39 ↑ +24%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $3,214.39 ↑ +24%
WEBTPA AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
COVENTRY AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
AETNA AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
MERITAIN AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
AETNA EAP AETNA $3,778.11 ↑ +45%
FIRST CHOICE HEALTH FIRST CHOICE $3,798.10 ↑ +46%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $3,842.08 ↑ +48%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,878.06 ↑ +49%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,878.06 ↑ +49%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,878.06 ↑ +49%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,878.06 ↑ +49%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,878.06 ↑ +49%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,878.06 ↑ +49%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $3,998.00 ↑ +54%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $3,998.00 ↑ +54%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $4,099.13 $64.86 – $1,506.43
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1,183.88 $64.86 – $779.88
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $2,598.70 $219.72 – $3,998.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $2,598.70 $1,528.04 – $3,998.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $2,598.70 $2,057.77 – $4,178.71
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $5,237.00 $225.21 – $5,237.00
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $2,589.60 $110.18 – $3,984.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $1,603.20 $231.38 – $323.93

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →