Inj proc myelogram lumbar 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

$488.00

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.

$610.00

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.

$74.92 with Aetna vs $272.99 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 →

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 $74.92 ↓ -85%
Molina Medicare Advantage $76.42 ↓ -84%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $76.42 ↓ -84%
Amerivantage Medicare Advantage $78.67 ↓ -84%
Humana Medicare Advantage $78.67 ↓ -84%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $78.67 ↓ -84%
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $95.03 ↓ -81%
Medica Exchange Inspire Commercial $120.64 ↓ -75%
Aetna HMO $128.07 ↓ -74%
Aetna PPO $128.07 ↓ -74%
Medica Exchange Insure Commercial $134.99 ↓ -72%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO $158.50 ↓ -68%
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $158.50 ↓ -68%
Cigna/Midlands Commercial $165.72 ↓ -66%
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $186.50 ↓ -62%
United Healthcare PPO $272.99 ↓ -44%
United Healthcare HMO $272.99 ↓ -44%
Amerigroup Managed Medicaid not published by hospital
Iowa Total Care Managed Medicaid not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Inj proc myelogram lumbar at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo $1,149.85 $415.72 – $3,576.15
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $364.20 not published
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $475.15 $146.93 – $731.00
MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center Davenport $400.20 not published
MercyOne Genesis DeWitt Medical Center DeWitt $382.20 $465.01 – $2,679.00
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $488.00 $74.92 – $561.20
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $768.07 $74.92 – $386.91
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $1,202.33 $74.92 – $441.86

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →