Incision anal septum infant at UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital

1825 Logan Avenue, Waterloo, IA · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1336231091

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 28, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$647.20

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$809.00

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.

$243.68 with Aetna vs $2,273.10 with Iowa Total Care — 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
Aetna Medicare Advantage $243.68 ↓ -62%
Molina Medicare Advantage $248.55 ↓ -62%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $248.55 ↓ -62%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $255.86 ↓ -60%
Humana Medicare Advantage $255.86 ↓ -60%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $255.86 ↓ -60%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $403.40 ↓ -38%
Aetna HMO $498.99 ↓ -23%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $535.20 ↓ -17%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $535.20 ↓ -17%
Aetna PPO $595.10 ↓ -8%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $629.70 ↓ -3%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $643.79 ↓ -1%
United Healthcare PPO $808.19 ↑ +25%
United Healthcare HMO $808.19 ↑ +25%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid $2,273.10 ↑ +251%
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid $2,273.10 ↑ +251%
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Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Incision anal septum infant at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $647.20 $243.68 – $2,411.19
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $647.20 $243.68 – $2,728.58
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $647.20 $243.68 – $2,642.16
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $647.20 $243.68 – $643.79
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $647.20 $243.68 – $2,668.61
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City $647.20 $210.34 – $2,428.72
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf $647.20 $243.68 – $2,359.83
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Muscatine Muscatine $647.20 $243.68 – $2,368.44

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →