Cornea pre-cut midwest eye cornea pre-cut midwest eye 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

$5,705.60

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.

$8,777.85

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.

$91.65 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $390.00 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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $91.65 ↓ -98%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $91.65 ↓ -98%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $216.45 ↓ -96%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $216.45 ↓ -96%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $255.84 ↓ -96%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $276.90 ↓ -95%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $276.90 ↓ -95%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $276.90 ↓ -95%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $276.90 ↓ -95%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $276.90 ↓ -95%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $276.90 ↓ -95%
MERITAIN AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
WEBTPA AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
AETNA EAP AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
COVENTRY AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
AETNA AETNA $348.27 ↓ -94%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $362.70 ↓ -94%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $390.00 ↓ -93%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $390.00 ↓ -93%

Visitor-reported prices

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Cornea pre-cut midwest eye cornea pre-cut midwest eye at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo not published $3,125.00 – $4,188.36
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $5,705.60 $139.23 – $513.90
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $5,421.00 $153.41 – $387.50
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $5,705.60 $146.48 – $436.17
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $5,705.60 $109.66 – $387.50
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $5,705.60 $149.06 – $390.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $5,705.60 $94.00 – $400.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $5,705.60 $200.73 – $407.63

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →