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Ghs paravert facet/nerve lumb ea add bil 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

$4,753.45

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.

$7,313.00

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.

$1,145.63 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $4,875.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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 $1,145.63 ↓ -76%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $1,145.63 ↓ -76%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $3,198.00 ↓ -33%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,461.25 ↓ -27%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,461.25 ↓ -27%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,461.25 ↓ -27%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,461.25 ↓ -27%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,461.25 ↓ -27%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $3,461.25 ↓ -27%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
MERITAIN AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
WEBTPA AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
AETNA EAP AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
COVENTRY AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
AETNA AETNA $3,576.15 ↓ -25%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $4,533.75 ↓ -5%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $4,875.00 ↑ +3%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $4,875.00 ↑ +3%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ghs paravert facet/nerve lumb ea add bil at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $3,922.71 $40.96 – $98.20
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $1,076.40 not published
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $4,395.95 $906.31 – $4,509.00
MercyOne Newton Medical Center Newton $4,078.75 $2,718.95 – $4,183.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $1,212.60 not published
MercyOne Genesis DeWitt Medical Center DeWitt $1,212.60 $127.02 – $458.32
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $849.30 $46.82 – $424.65
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $441.60 $46.82 – $125.58

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →