External chromosome analysis 20-25 cells at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center
3421 W. 9th St, Waterloo, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1700827896
$172.25
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$265.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$62.28 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $393.51 with MERITAIN — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $62.28 | ↓ -64% |
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $62.28 | ↓ -64% |
| IOWA TOTAL CARE | IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID | $140.13 | ↓ -19% |
| MOLINA MEDICAID | MOLINA MEDICAID | $141.50 | ↓ -18% |
| AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $141.72 | ↓ -18% |
| MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $141.72 | ↓ -18% |
| MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $141.72 | ↓ -18% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICAID | WELLPOINT MEDICAID | $142.05 | ↓ -18% |
| BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $143.13 | ↓ -17% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $144.55 | ↓ -16% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $144.61 | ↓ -16% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $144.61 | ↓ -16% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV | $146.06 | ↓ -15% |
| WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE | $147.50 | ↓ -14% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $173.84 | ↑ +1% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $188.15 | ↑ +9% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $188.15 | ↑ +9% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $188.15 | ↑ +9% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $188.15 | ↑ +9% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $188.15 | ↑ +9% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $188.15 | ↑ +9% |
| AMISH HOSPITAL AID | AMISH HOSPITAL AID | $192.33 | ↑ +12% |
| OSCAR | OSCAR | $221.93 | ↑ +29% |
| CENTIVO | CENTIVO | $240.05 | ↑ +39% |
| AMBETTER | AMBETTER MARKETPLACE | $242.94 | ↑ +41% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $246.45 | ↑ +43% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $265.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $265.00 | ↑ +54% |
| NOVA | CLAIMDOC | $290.67 | ↑ +69% |
| CLAIMDOC | CLAIMDOC | $290.67 | ↑ +69% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $393.51 | ↑ +128% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
External chromosome analysis 20-25 cells at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $363.20 | $90.41 – $202.47 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $331.50 | $140.13 – $510.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $159.25 | $69.34 – $290.67 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $612.00 | $123.01 – $612.00 |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $159.25 | $49.25 – $290.67 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $722.00 | $198.12 – $722.00 |
| MercyOne Newton Medical Center | Newton | $469.30 | $140.13 – $722.00 |
| MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center | Mason City | $368.55 | $140.13 – $567.00 |