Brachy source palladium 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

$288.70

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.

$288.70

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.

$15.08 with MEDICAL ASSOCIATES vs $75.00 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 $15.08 ↓ -95%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $15.08 ↓ -95%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
AETNA AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
COVENTRY AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
MERITAIN AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
WEBTPA AETNA $26.03 ↓ -91%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $45.00 ↓ -84%
CIGNA CIGNA $45.00 ↓ -84%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $45.00 ↓ -84%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $45.00 ↓ -84%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $47.63 ↓ -84%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $48.75 ↓ -83%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $48.75 ↓ -83%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $48.75 ↓ -83%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $48.75 ↓ -83%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $63.75 ↓ -78%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $75.00 ↓ -74%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $75.00 ↓ -74%

Visitor-reported prices

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Brachy source palladium at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque $288.70 $26.78 – $75.00
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $288.70 $23.75 – $60.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $288.70 $28.35 – $84.42
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $288.70 $21.23 – $75.00
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $288.70 $28.67 – $75.00
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $288.70 $17.63 – $75.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $288.70 $38.60 – $78.39
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $288.70 $15.08 – $75.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →