Echo transesophageal 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

$1,605.00

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.

$1,605.00

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.

$322.61 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $1,605.00 with IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH — 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
HEALTH CHOICES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $322.61 ↓ -80%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $322.61 ↓ -80%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $530.00 ↓ -67%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $530.00 ↓ -67%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
AETNA AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
COVENTRY AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
MERITAIN AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
WEBTPA AETNA $556.94 ↓ -65%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $963.00 ↓ -40%
CIGNA CIGNA $963.00 ↓ -40%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $1,019.18 ↓ -36%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,043.25 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,043.25 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,043.25 ↓ -35%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,043.25 ↓ -35%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $1,364.25 ↓ -15%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $1,605.00 ↑ +0%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $1,605.00 ↑ +0%

Visitor-reported prices

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Echo transesophageal at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $1,043.25 $56.45 – $1,605.00
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo $564.80 $80.22 – $209.59
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital Dubuque $564.80 $80.22 – $249.32
UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell $564.80 $80.22 – $209.59
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Lutheran Hospital Des Moines $564.80 $80.22 – $209.59
UnityPoint Health - Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa $564.80 $80.22 – $209.59
UnityPoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown $564.80 $80.22 – $209.59
UnityPoint Health - St. Lukes Downtown Sioux City $564.80 $70.46 – $209.59

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →