Acyclovir 400 mg tablet at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center

3421 W. 9th St, Waterloo, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1700827896

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 31, 2026 · Ingested Aug 3, 2026

$80.45

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.

$80.45

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.

$0.20 with AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE vs $1.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE — 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
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $0.20 ↓ -100%
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $0.20 ↓ -100%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $0.21 ↓ -100%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $0.21 ↓ -100%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $0.24 ↓ -100%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $0.24 ↓ -100%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $0.56 ↓ -99%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $0.56 ↓ -99%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $0.66 ↓ -99%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.71 ↓ -99%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.71 ↓ -99%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.71 ↓ -99%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.71 ↓ -99%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.71 ↓ -99%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $0.71 ↓ -99%
AETNA EAP AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
AETNA AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
COVENTRY AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
MERITAIN AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
WEBTPA AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $0.89 ↓ -99%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $0.93 ↓ -99%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $1.00 ↓ -99%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $1.00 ↓ -99%

Visitor-reported prices

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Acyclovir 400 mg tablet at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $64.85 $0.19 – $1.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $64.85 $0.38 – $1.13
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $64.85 $0.19 – $1.00
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $64.85 $0.16 – $1.00
Sanford Sheldon Medical Center Sheldon $417.63 $0.43 – $1.35
CHI Health Mercy Corning Corning $38.60 $20.13 – $45.87
CHI Health Missouri Valley Missouri Valley $39.40 $16.38 – $45.87
CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs Council Bluffs $33.77 $7.02 – $39.78

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →