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Metabolic Blood Panel (Basic) 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

$64.00

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.

$80.00

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.

$22.80 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $72.00 with Multiplan — 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 $22.80 ↓ -64%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $24.48 ↓ -62%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $24.72 ↓ -61%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Medicare Replacement $24.72 ↓ -61%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $24.72 ↓ -61%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $24.72 ↓ -61%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $24.72 ↓ -61%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $25.20 ↓ -61%
Wellmark HMO $40.00 ↓ -38%
Wellmark PPO $41.60 ↓ -35%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $42.86 ↓ -33%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $42.86 ↓ -33%
Security Health Plan Commercial $44.00 ↓ -31%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $50.42 ↓ -21%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $50.42 ↓ -21%
Health Partners State Employees $52.80 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $60.00 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $66.00 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $66.80 ↑ +4%
Aetna Commercial $69.52 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $70.29 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $70.56 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $72.00 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $72.00 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $72.00 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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Metabolic Blood Panel (Basic) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $68.56 $5.08 – $25.20
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $68.56 $5.08 – $45.16
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $55.20 $8.46 – $8.46
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $322.40 $8.63 – $159.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $448.50 $9.09 – $178.97
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $273.65 $8.20 – $113.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $374.00 $8.37 – $159.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $268.00 $8.20 – $84.49

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →