Chg radiologic exam esophagus double contrast at UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital
1825 Logan Avenue, Waterloo, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1336231091
$379.01
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.
$473.76
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.
$30.62 with Aetna vs $411.26 with Aetna — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $30.62 | ↓ -92% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $31.23 | ↓ -92% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $31.23 | ↓ -92% |
| Amerivantage | Medicare Advantage | $32.15 | ↓ -92% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $32.15 | ↓ -92% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $32.15 | ↓ -92% |
| United Healthcare | PPO | $44.57 | ↓ -88% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $44.57 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $52.63 | ↓ -86% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $56.50 | ↓ -85% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO | $56.50 | ↓ -85% |
| Cigna/Midlands | Commercial | $64.45 | ↓ -83% |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $66.50 | ↓ -82% |
| Amerigroup | Managed Medicaid | $147.55 | ↓ -61% |
| Iowa Total Care | Managed Medicaid | $147.55 | ↓ -61% |
| Medica Exchange Inspire | Commercial | $223.14 | ↓ -41% |
| Medica Exchange Insure | Commercial | $249.67 | ↓ -34% |
| Aetna | HMO | $395.29 | ↑ +4% |
| Aetna | PPO | $411.26 | ↑ +9% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Chg radiologic exam esophagus double contrast at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center | Waterloo | $312.00 | $112.80 – $480.00 |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $373.75 | $157.36 – $575.00 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $415.35 | $161.52 – $639.00 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $312.00 | $112.80 – $480.00 |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center | Des Moines | $395.85 | $122.41 – $609.00 |
| MercyOne Centerville Medical Center | Centerville | $667.00 | $183.02 – $667.00 |
| MercyOne Newton Medical Center | Newton | $433.55 | $166.03 – $667.00 |
| MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center | Mason City | $471.25 | $169.72 – $725.00 |