Brace tlso flex cust 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

$1,982.56

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.

$3,050.10

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.

$716.77 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $3,050.10 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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $716.77 ↓ -64%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $716.77 ↓ -64%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $1,692.81 ↓ -15%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $1,692.81 ↓ -15%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $2,000.87 ↑ +1%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,165.57 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,165.57 ↑ +9%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,165.57 ↑ +9%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,165.57 ↑ +9%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,165.57 ↑ +9%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $2,165.57 ↑ +9%
MERITAIN AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
WEBTPA AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
AETNA EAP AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
COVENTRY AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
AETNA AETNA $2,723.74 ↑ +37%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $2,836.59 ↑ +43%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $3,050.10 ↑ +54%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $3,050.10 ↑ +54%

Visitor-reported prices

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Brace tlso flex cust at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo not published $109.97 – $229.07
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $1,982.56 $1,088.89 – $3,050.10
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $1,883.67 $1,147.30 – $2,897.96
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $1,982.56 $1,152.94 – $3,433.19
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $1,982.56 $863.18 – $3,050.10
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $1,982.56 $1,165.75 – $3,050.10
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $1,982.56 $716.77 – $3,050.10
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $1,982.56 $1,569.89 – $3,187.96

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →