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Abdominal MRI (with and without contrast) at UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown

2720 Stone Park Blvd, Sioux City, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1962594622

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 28, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$2,014.64

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.

$2,518.29

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.

$84.24 with Nebraska Total Care vs $1,308.97 with Medica Exchange Insure — 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
Nebraska Total Care Managed Medicaid $84.24 ↓ -96%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $96.27 ↓ -95%
Molina Medicare Advantage $98.20 ↓ -95%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $98.20 ↓ -95%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $101.08 ↓ -95%
Humana Medicare Advantage $101.08 ↓ -95%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $101.08 ↓ -95%
United Healthcare HMO $139.71 ↓ -93%
United Healthcare PPO $139.71 ↓ -93%
Avera Health Plan Commercial $144.41 ↓ -93%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $203.07 ↓ -90%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $219.19 ↓ -89%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $231.50 ↓ -89%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $231.50 ↓ -89%
Aetna HMO $255.99 ↓ -87%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $272.40 ↓ -86%
Aetna PPO $294.87 ↓ -85%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $316.28 ↓ -84%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $316.28 ↓ -84%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $1,168.56 ↓ -42%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $1,308.97 ↓ -35%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal MRI (with and without contrast) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $5,169.83 $96.27 – $1,899.91
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $3,870.12 $96.27 – $1,638.53
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $2,814.60 $341.85 – $478.59
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $4,909.45 $312.99 – $7,553.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $3,478.15 $2,118.46 – $5,351.00
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $1,800.50 $321.26 – $2,770.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $3,478.15 $2,045.15 – $5,351.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $5,174.00 $328.68 – $7,960.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →