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Neck MRA (blood vessel 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

$1,896.42

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.

$2,370.52

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.

$69.16 with Nebraska Total Care vs $1,370.16 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 $69.16 ↓ -96%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $78.60 ↓ -96%
Molina Medicare Advantage $80.17 ↓ -96%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $80.17 ↓ -96%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $82.53 ↓ -96%
Humana Medicare Advantage $82.53 ↓ -96%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $82.53 ↓ -96%
United Healthcare HMO $114.95 ↓ -94%
United Healthcare PPO $114.95 ↓ -94%
Avera Health Plan Commercial $117.90 ↓ -94%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $166.15 ↓ -91%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $174.17 ↓ -91%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $188.30 ↓ -90%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $188.30 ↓ -90%
Aetna HMO $203.71 ↓ -89%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $221.60 ↓ -88%
Aetna PPO $234.55 ↓ -88%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $316.28 ↓ -83%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $316.28 ↓ -83%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $1,223.19 ↓ -36%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $1,370.16 ↓ -28%

Visitor-reported prices

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Neck MRA (blood vessel MRI, with and without contrast) at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $3,792.99 $78.60 – $1,393.92
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $2,389.24 $78.60 – $1,573.91
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $2,679.30 $321.26 – $4,122.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $3,547.70 $2,809.23 – $5,704.70
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $3,695.25 $52.61 – $5,685.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $2,330.40 $341.85 – $478.59
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $3,019.25 $312.99 – $4,645.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $3,547.70 $2,160.82 – $5,458.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →