Lidocaine (pf) 4 mg/ml (0.4 %) in 5 % dextrose intravenous solution 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

$77.27

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.

$96.58

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.

$26.96 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $85.12 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 $26.96 ↓ -65%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $28.94 ↓ -63%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Medicare Replacement $29.23 ↓ -62%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $29.23 ↓ -62%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $29.23 ↓ -62%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $29.23 ↓ -62%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $29.23 ↓ -62%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $29.79 ↓ -61%
Wellmark HMO $47.29 ↓ -39%
Wellmark PPO $49.18 ↓ -36%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $50.68 ↓ -34%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $50.68 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $52.02 ↓ -33%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $59.61 ↓ -23%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $59.61 ↓ -23%
Health Partners State Employees $62.42 ↓ -19%
Health Partners Commercial $70.94 ↓ -8%
Medica Choice $78.03 ↑ +1%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $78.97 ↑ +2%
Aetna Commercial $82.19 ↑ +6%
Ucare Commercial $83.10 ↑ +8%
Medica Elect $83.42 ↑ +8%
Multiplan Commercial $85.12 ↑ +10%
Healthez Commercial $85.12 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $85.12 ↑ +10%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lidocaine (pf) 4 mg/ml (0.4 %) in 5 % dextrose intravenous solution at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $37.50 $13.39 – $37.50
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $37.50 $14.85 – $37.50
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $37.50 $14.18 – $42.21
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $37.50 $10.61 – $37.50
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $37.50 $14.33 – $37.50
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $37.50 $8.81 – $37.50
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $37.50 $19.30 – $39.20
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $37.50 $7.54 – $37.50

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →