Injection for bladder x-ray at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center
3421 W. 9th St, Waterloo, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1700827896
$986.05
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.
$1,517.00
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.
$356.50 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $1,517.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $356.50 | ↓ -64% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $356.50 | ↓ -64% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $995.15 | ↑ +1% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,077.07 | ↑ +9% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,077.07 | ↑ +9% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,077.07 | ↑ +9% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,077.07 | ↑ +9% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,077.07 | ↑ +9% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $1,077.07 | ↑ +9% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $1,410.81 | ↑ +43% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $1,517.00 | ↑ +54% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $1,517.00 | ↑ +54% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Injection for bladder x-ray at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $551.29 | $39.10 – $363.16 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $447.20 | $245.62 – $688.00 |
| MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center | West Des Moines | $2,167.00 | $435.57 – $2,167.00 |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $1,408.55 | $435.57 – $2,167.00 |
| MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center | Mason City | $418.60 | $164.86 – $644.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital | Dubuque | $619.26 | $39.10 – $619.26 |
| UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center | Grinnell | $505.60 | $39.10 – $185.93 |
| UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital | Des Moines | $1,058.16 | $39.10 – $388.87 |