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Blood Culture Test at MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center

201 8th Ave SE, Oelwein, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1528009511

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

$183.00

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.

$183.00

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.

$10.11 with MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS vs $183.00 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
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $10.11 ↓ -94%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $10.21 ↓ -94%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $10.32 ↓ -94%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $10.42 ↓ -94%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $10.53 ↓ -94%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $10.72 ↓ -94%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $10.94 ↓ -94%
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $70.93 ↓ -61%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $71.97 ↓ -61%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $72.32 ↓ -60%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $99.79 ↓ -45%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $112.55 ↓ -38%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $126.05 ↓ -31%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $129.93 ↓ -29%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $129.93 ↓ -29%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $134.69 ↓ -26%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $134.69 ↓ -26%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $150.81 ↓ -18%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $150.81 ↓ -18%
WEBTPA AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
COVENTRY AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
AETNA AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
MERITAIN AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
AETNA EAP AETNA $168.18 ↓ -8%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $176.05 ↓ -4%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $177.51 ↓ -3%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE $179.34 ↓ -2%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE $179.34 ↓ -2%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE $179.34 ↓ -2%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE $179.34 ↓ -2%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE $179.34 ↓ -2%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE $179.34 ↓ -2%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $183.00 ↑ +0%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $183.00 ↑ +0%

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 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
MercyOne Newton Medical Center Newton $411.00 $9.09 – $183.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →