healthcosts.net

Frozen blood freeze/thaw 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

$144.00

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$180.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$34.76 with Iowa Total Care vs $113.10 with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $34.76 ↓ -76%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $34.76 ↓ -76%
Molina Medicare Advantage $39.02 ↓ -73%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $39.02 ↓ -73%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $39.02 ↓ -73%
Humana Medicare Advantage $40.16 ↓ -72%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $40.16 ↓ -72%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $40.16 ↓ -72%
Nebraska Total Care Managed Medicaid $46.80 ↓ -68%
United Healthcare HMO $56.17 ↓ -61%
United Healthcare PPO $56.17 ↓ -61%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $58.60 ↓ -59%
Aetna HMO $83.64 ↓ -42%
Aetna PPO $95.96 ↓ -33%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $96.20 ↓ -33%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $96.20 ↓ -33%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $111.15 ↓ -23%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $113.10 ↓ -21%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial not published by hospital
Avera Health Plan Commercial not published by hospital
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Frozen blood freeze/thaw at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $144.00 $32.54 – $111.15
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $144.00 $34.51 – $165.60
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $144.00 $33.84 – $165.56
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $144.00 $37.37 – $111.15
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $144.00 $56.17 – $182.28
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $144.00 $36.91 – $111.15
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf $144.00 $33.78 – $111.15
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Muscatine Muscatine $144.00 $33.90 – $165.56

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →