Excise lip or cheek fold 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

$692.25

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.

$1,065.00

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.

$250.28 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $3,576.15 with AETNA DOMESTIC — 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
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $250.28 ↓ -64%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $250.28 ↓ -64%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $698.64 ↑ +1%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $756.15 ↑ +9%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $756.15 ↑ +9%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $756.15 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $756.15 ↑ +9%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $756.15 ↑ +9%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $756.15 ↑ +9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $990.45 ↑ +43%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $1,065.00 ↑ +54%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $1,065.00 ↑ +54%
COVENTRY AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
MERITAIN AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
AETNA EAP AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
WEBTPA AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
AETNA AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $3,576.15 ↑ +417%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Excise lip or cheek fold at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $699.20 $184.70 – $1,227.80
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $563.40 $66.95 – $1,417.91
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $735.00 $48.47 – $609.67
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $591.60 $77.35 – $1,417.91
MercyOne Genesis DeWitt Medical Center DeWitt $591.60 $719.78 – $2,679.00
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $699.20 $184.70 – $1,302.39
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $699.20 $184.70 – $1,473.83
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $699.20 $184.70 – $1,427.15

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →