healthcosts.net

Diabetes (HbA1c) Test 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

$245.00

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.

$245.00

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.

$9.40 with IOWA TOTAL CARE vs $130.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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
IOWA TOTAL CARE IOWA TOTAL CARE MEDICAID $9.40 ↓ -96%
MOLINA MEDICAID MOLINA MEDICAID $9.50 ↓ -96%
MEDICARE MEDICAL ASSOCIATES HEALTH PLANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.52 ↓ -96%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.52 ↓ -96%
MEDIGOLD MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MERCYONE HEALTH PLAN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.52 ↓ -96%
WELLPOINT MEDICAID WELLPOINT MEDICAID $9.53 ↓ -96%
BLUE CROSS - IA (WELLMARK) MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLMARK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.61 ↓ -96%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $9.71 ↓ -96%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.71 ↓ -96%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $9.71 ↓ -96%
HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE UNITYPOINT HEALTH PARTNERS MEDICARE ADV $9.81 ↓ -96%
WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WELLPOINT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.90 ↓ -96%
AMISH HOSPITAL AID AMISH HOSPITAL AID $12.91 ↓ -95%
OSCAR OSCAR $13.80 ↓ -94%
CENTIVO CENTIVO $14.01 ↓ -94%
AMBETTER AMBETTER MARKETPLACE $16.31 ↓ -93%
NOVA CLAIMDOC $19.52 ↓ -92%
CLAIMDOC CLAIMDOC $19.52 ↓ -92%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $26.13 ↓ -89%
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $26.13 ↓ -89%
WEBTPA AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
COVENTRY AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
AETNA AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
MERITAIN AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $45.11 ↓ -82%
CIGNA CIGNA $78.00 ↓ -68%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $78.00 ↓ -68%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $82.55 ↓ -66%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $84.50 ↓ -66%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $84.50 ↓ -66%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $84.50 ↓ -66%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $84.50 ↓ -66%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $110.50 ↓ -55%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $130.00 ↓ -47%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $130.00 ↓ -47%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Diabetes (HbA1c) Test at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $33.57 $5.83 – $15.10
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $33.57 $5.83 – $22.11
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $48.00 $9.71 – $9.71
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $547.30 $9.09 – $122.00
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $79.30 $46.12 – $137.32
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $486.85 $9.09 – $163.00
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $79.30 $6.80 – $127.51
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $317.00 $6.80 – $130.00

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →