MRI lower extremity other than joint without & w/contrast (both sides) 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

$1,806.81

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.

$2,258.51

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.

$82.68 with Nebraska Total Care vs $1,305.42 with Medica Exchange Insure — 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
Nebraska Total Care Managed Medicaid $82.68 ↓ -95%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $94.35 ↓ -95%
Molina Medicare Advantage $96.24 ↓ -95%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $96.24 ↓ -95%
Humana Medicare Advantage $99.07 ↓ -95%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $99.07 ↓ -95%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $99.07 ↓ -95%
United Healthcare HMO $136.51 ↓ -92%
United Healthcare PPO $136.51 ↓ -92%
Avera Health Plan Commercial $141.53 ↓ -92%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $198.39 ↓ -89%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $207.86 ↓ -88%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $227.10 ↓ -87%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $227.10 ↓ -87%
Aetna HMO $242.59 ↓ -87%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $267.10 ↓ -85%
Aetna PPO $280.12 ↓ -84%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $316.28 ↓ -82%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $316.28 ↓ -82%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $1,165.39 ↓ -36%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $1,305.42 ↓ -28%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

MRI lower extremity other than joint without & w/contrast (both sides) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $3,472.20 $341.85 – $478.59
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $5,898.75 $312.99 – $6,050.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $5,818.15 $2,362.34 – $5,967.00
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $2,221.70 $321.26 – $2,279.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $5,818.15 $2,280.59 – $5,967.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $5,364.45 $328.68 – $5,502.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $5,818.15 $3,071.21 – $6,236.71
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $10,285.00 $329.29 – $6,857.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →