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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center
201 8th Ave SE, Oelwein, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1528009511
$2,598.70
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.
$3,998.00
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.
$1,528.04 with MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $1,528.04 | ↓ -41% |
| IOWA TOTAL CARE | IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID | $1,549.62 | ↓ -40% |
| MOLINA MEDICAID | MOLINA MEDICAID | $1,572.41 | ↓ -39% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICAID | WELLPOINT MEDICAID | $1,580.01 | ↓ -39% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $1,622.39 | ↓ -38% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV | $1,655.57 | ↓ -36% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $1,671.96 | ↓ -36% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $1,702.75 | ↓ -34% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $1,737.53 | ↓ -33% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $1,885.06 | ↓ -27% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $2,180.11 | ↓ -16% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $2,458.77 | ↓ -5% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $2,753.82 | ↑ +6% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $2,838.58 | ↑ +9% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $2,838.58 | ↑ +9% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $2,942.53 | ↑ +13% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $2,942.53 | ↑ +13% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $3,294.75 | ↑ +27% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $3,294.75 | ↑ +27% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $3,674.16 | ↑ +41% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $3,846.08 | ↑ +48% |
| MULTIPLAN | MULTIPLAN | $3,878.06 | ↑ +49% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE | $3,918.04 | ↑ +51% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE | $3,918.04 | ↑ +51% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE | $3,918.04 | ↑ +51% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE | $3,918.04 | ↑ +51% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE | $3,918.04 | ↑ +51% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE | $3,918.04 | ↑ +51% |
| 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 New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $2,598.70 | $1,582.81 – $3,998.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $2,598.70 | $219.72 – $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 |