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Urine Culture Test 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

$480.00

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.

$105.00

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.

$7.82 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $105.00 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 →

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 $7.82 ↓ -98%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $7.90 ↓ -98%
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $7.91 ↓ -98%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $7.91 ↓ -98%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $7.91 ↓ -98%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $7.93 ↓ -98%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $7.99 ↓ -98%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $8.07 ↓ -98%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $8.07 ↓ -98%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $8.07 ↓ -98%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $8.15 ↓ -98%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $8.23 ↓ -98%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $10.73 ↓ -98%
OSCAR OSCAR $12.39 ↓ -97%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $13.40 ↓ -97%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $13.56 ↓ -97%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $16.22 ↓ -97%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $16.22 ↓ -97%
WEBTPA AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
COVENTRY AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
AETNA AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
MERITAIN AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
AETNA EAP AETNA $21.95 ↓ -95%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $24.68 ↓ -95%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $24.68 ↓ -95%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $68.88 ↓ -86%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $74.55 ↓ -84%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $74.55 ↓ -84%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $74.55 ↓ -84%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $74.55 ↓ -84%
CIGNA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $74.55 ↓ -84%
CIGNA EAP MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $74.55 ↓ -84%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE DEERE PREMIER $97.65 ↓ -80%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UHC OPTUM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH $105.00 ↓ -78%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $105.00 ↓ -78%

Visitor-reported prices

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Urine Culture Test at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $38.58 $4.84 – $25.41
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $45.00 $8.07 – $8.07
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $58.50 $35.63 – $90.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $58.50 $34.02 – $101.30
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $411.45 $7.82 – $135.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $392.00 $7.91 – $90.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $288.00 $7.82 – $105.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $58.50 $46.32 – $94.07

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →