Brace afo dbl upright cust at MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center

1755 59th Place, West Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1538395975

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 31, 2026 · Ingested Aug 3, 2026

$1,151.48

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.

$1,151.48

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.

$231.45 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $1,151.48 with CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE — 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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $231.45 ↓ -80%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $231.45 ↓ -80%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
AETNA AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
COVENTRY AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
MERITAIN AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
WEBTPA AETNA $399.56 ↓ -65%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $460.59 ↓ -60%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $460.59 ↓ -60%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $690.89 ↓ -40%
CIGNA CIGNA $690.89 ↓ -40%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $731.19 ↓ -36%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $748.46 ↓ -35%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $748.46 ↓ -35%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $748.46 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $748.46 ↓ -35%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $978.76 ↓ -15%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $1,151.48 ↑ +0%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $1,151.48 ↑ +0%

Visitor-reported prices

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Brace afo dbl upright cust at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $748.46 $411.08 – $1,151.48
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $932.25 $567.81 – $1,434.23
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $748.46 $435.26 – $1,296.11
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $748.46 $325.87 – $1,151.48
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $748.46 $440.10 – $1,151.48
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $748.46 $270.60 – $1,151.48
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $748.46 $592.67 – $1,203.53
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $748.46 $231.45 – $1,151.48

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →