Observation per hour at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center
3421 W. 9th St, Waterloo, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1700827896
$70.20
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.
$108.00
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.
$9.64 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $5,037.00 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 →
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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 | $9.64 | ↓ -86% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $9.64 | ↓ -86% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $26.90 | ↓ -62% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $29.11 | ↓ -59% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $29.11 | ↓ -59% |
| CIGNA EAP | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $29.11 | ↓ -59% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $29.11 | ↓ -59% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $29.11 | ↓ -59% |
| CIGNA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $29.11 | ↓ -59% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER | $38.13 | ↓ -46% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $41.00 | ↓ -42% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| AETNA EAP | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $141.15 | ↑ +101% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH | $770.94 | ↑ +998% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $5,037.00 | ↑ +7075% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $5,037.00 | ↑ +7075% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Observation per hour at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital | Waterloo | $44.80 | $20.78 – $36.23 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $78.65 | $42.76 – $108.00 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $70.20 | $40.82 – $121.56 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $133.90 | $30.00 – $3,077.00 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $97.50 | $41.28 – $108.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $76.70 | $8.46 – $6,171.00 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $78.65 | $55.59 – $112.88 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $150.00 | $29.64 – $108.00 |