Brace knee postop tscope xl 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

$443.98

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.

Full explanation →

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

$443.98

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$89.24 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $443.98 with CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $89.24 ↓ -80%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $89.24 ↓ -80%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
AETNA AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
COVENTRY AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
MERITAIN AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
WEBTPA AETNA $154.06 ↓ -65%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $266.39 ↓ -40%
CIGNA CIGNA $266.39 ↓ -40%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $266.39 ↓ -40%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $266.39 ↓ -40%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $281.93 ↓ -36%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $288.59 ↓ -35%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $288.59 ↓ -35%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $288.59 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $288.59 ↓ -35%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $377.38 ↓ -15%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $443.98 ↑ +0%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $443.98 ↑ +0%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Brace knee postop tscope xl at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $288.59 $158.50 – $443.98
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $359.45 $218.93 – $553.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $288.59 $167.82 – $499.74
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $288.59 $125.65 – $443.98
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $288.59 $169.69 – $443.98
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $288.59 $104.34 – $443.98
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $288.59 $228.52 – $464.05
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $288.59 $89.24 – $443.98

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →