Inj sulf hexa lipid microsph at Sanford Sheldon Medical Center

118 N 7th Ave, Sheldon, IA · Sanford Health · · NPI 1841200623

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$251.81

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.

$314.76

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.

$33.51 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $105.82 with First Choice Health Network — 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
Sanford Health Plan Align Medicare Replacement $33.51 ↓ -87%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $35.98 ↓ -86%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Medicare Replacement $36.33 ↓ -86%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $36.33 ↓ -86%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $36.33 ↓ -86%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $36.33 ↓ -86%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $36.33 ↓ -86%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $37.04 ↓ -85%
Wellmark HMO $58.79 ↓ -77%
Wellmark PPO $61.14 ↓ -76%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $63.00 ↓ -75%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $63.00 ↓ -75%
Security Health Plan Commercial $64.67 ↓ -74%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $74.11 ↓ -71%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $74.11 ↓ -71%
Health Partners State Employees $77.60 ↓ -69%
Health Partners Commercial $88.19 ↓ -65%
Medica Choice $97.00 ↓ -61%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $98.18 ↓ -61%
Aetna Commercial $102.18 ↓ -59%
Ucare Commercial $103.31 ↓ -59%
Medica Elect $103.71 ↓ -59%
Multiplan Commercial $105.82 ↓ -58%
Healthez Commercial $105.82 ↓ -58%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $105.82 ↓ -58%

Visitor-reported prices

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Inj sulf hexa lipid microsph at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $281.30 not published
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $281.30 not published
MercyOne Genesis DeWitt Medical Center DeWitt $281.30 $159.40 – $342.25
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $73.40 $18.72 – $26.84
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $47.62 $18.01 – $47.62
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $266.38 $18.72 – $72.48
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $110.38 $3.19 – $19.04
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $37.60 $18.72 – $25.03

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →