Metronidazole 500 mg/100 ml in sodium chlor(iso) intravenous piggyback 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

$14.50

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.

$14.50

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.

$3.41 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $14.50 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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $3.41 ↓ -76%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $3.41 ↓ -76%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $8.05 ↓ -44%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $8.05 ↓ -44%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $9.51 ↓ -34%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $10.30 ↓ -29%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $10.30 ↓ -29%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $10.30 ↓ -29%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $10.30 ↓ -29%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $10.30 ↓ -29%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $10.30 ↓ -29%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
COVENTRY AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
MERITAIN AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
AETNA EAP AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
AETNA AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
WEBTPA AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $12.95 ↓ -11%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $13.49 ↓ -7%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $14.50 ↑ +0%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $14.50 ↑ +0%

Visitor-reported prices

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Metronidazole 500 mg/100 ml in sodium chlor(iso) intravenous piggyback at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $1.67 $0.02 – $0.03
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $14.50 $5.18 – $14.50
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $14.50 $5.74 – $14.50
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $14.50 $5.48 – $16.32
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $12.50 $3.54 – $12.50
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $14.50 $5.54 – $14.50
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $14.50 $3.41 – $14.50
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $10.50 $5.40 – $10.97

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →