Mayo efpo chloride stool 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

$84.50

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.

$130.00

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.

$4.85 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $130.00 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
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $4.85 ↓ -94%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $4.89 ↓ -94%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $4.90 ↓ -94%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $4.90 ↓ -94%
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $4.90 ↓ -94%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $4.91 ↓ -94%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $4.95 ↓ -94%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $5.00 ↓ -94%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $5.00 ↓ -94%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $5.00 ↓ -94%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $5.05 ↓ -94%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $5.10 ↓ -94%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $6.65 ↓ -92%
OSCAR OSCAR $7.67 ↓ -91%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $8.30 ↓ -90%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $8.40 ↓ -90%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $10.05 ↓ -88%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $10.05 ↓ -88%
COVENTRY AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
AETNA AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
MERITAIN AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
WEBTPA AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
AETNA EAP AETNA $13.61 ↓ -84%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $30.55 ↓ -64%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $30.55 ↓ -64%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $85.28 ↑ +1%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $92.30 ↑ +9%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $92.30 ↑ +9%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $92.30 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $92.30 ↑ +9%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $92.30 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $92.30 ↑ +9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $120.90 ↑ +43%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $130.00 ↑ +54%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $130.00 ↑ +54%

Visitor-reported prices

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Mayo efpo chloride stool at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $33.57 $3.00 – $22.11
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $81.60 $5.00 – $5.00
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $84.50 $4.85 – $130.00
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $142.00 $4.85 – $142.00
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $92.30 $4.85 – $142.00
MercyOne Centerville Medical Center Centerville $130.00 $35.67 – $130.00
MercyOne Newton Medical Center Newton $84.50 $4.85 – $130.00
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center Mason City $84.50 $4.85 – $130.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →