healthcosts.net

Knee MRI (without contrast) 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

$3,903.25

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$6,005.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$1,529.95 with MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS vs $4,003.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,529.95 ↓ -61%
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $1,551.56 ↓ -60%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $1,574.38 ↓ -60%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $1,581.99 ↓ -59%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,624.42 ↓ -58%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $1,657.64 ↓ -58%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,674.05 ↓ -57%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,704.88 ↓ -56%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,739.70 ↓ -55%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $1,887.41 ↓ -52%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $2,182.84 ↓ -44%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $2,461.85 ↓ -37%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $2,757.27 ↓ -29%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $2,842.13 ↓ -27%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $2,842.13 ↓ -27%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $2,946.21 ↓ -25%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $2,946.21 ↓ -25%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $3,298.87 ↓ -15%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $3,298.87 ↓ -15%
WEBTPA AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
COVENTRY AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
AETNA AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
MERITAIN AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
AETNA EAP AETNA $3,678.76 ↓ -6%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $3,850.89 ↓ -1%
MULTIPLAN MULTIPLAN $3,882.91 ↓ -1%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE $3,922.94 ↑ +1%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE $3,922.94 ↑ +1%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE $3,922.94 ↑ +1%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE $3,922.94 ↑ +1%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE $3,922.94 ↑ +1%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE $3,922.94 ↑ +1%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $4,003.00 ↑ +3%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $4,003.00 ↑ +3%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Knee MRI (without contrast) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $3,573.02 $59.32 – $1,313.08
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $3,312.28 $59.32 – $2,181.96
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $2,406.00 $231.38 – $323.93
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $4,561.70 $214.06 – $4,679.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $3,903.25 $1,584.79 – $4,003.00
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $2,237.30 $219.72 – $2,294.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $4,687.80 $224.79 – $4,808.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $3,903.25 $2,060.34 – $4,183.94

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →