Treatment inhalation continuous aerosol medication acute airway obstruction each additional hour 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

$101.40

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.

$156.00

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.

$36.66 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $218.00 with GEHA — 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
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $36.66 ↓ -64%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $36.66 ↓ -64%
AETNA EAP AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
AETNA AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
COVENTRY AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
MERITAIN AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
WEBTPA AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $73.47 ↓ -28%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $102.34 ↑ +1%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $110.76 ↑ +9%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $110.76 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $110.76 ↑ +9%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $110.76 ↑ +9%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $110.76 ↑ +9%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $110.76 ↑ +9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $145.08 ↑ +43%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $156.00 ↑ +54%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $156.00 ↑ +54%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $218.00 ↑ +115%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $218.00 ↑ +115%

Visitor-reported prices

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Treatment inhalation continuous aerosol medication acute airway obstruction each additional hour at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $104.84 $14.91 – $69.06
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $93.60 $51.41 – $144.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $158.60 $96.60 – $244.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $158.60 $92.23 – $274.65
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $103.35 $45.00 – $174.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $158.60 $93.26 – $244.00
MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center West Des Moines $244.00 $49.04 – $244.00
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $158.60 $49.04 – $244.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →