F-18 fdg pet diag 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

$1,768.20

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.

$1,768.20

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.

$355.41 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $1,768.20 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 $355.41 ↓ -80%
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES MEDICAL ASSOCIATES $355.41 ↓ -80%
UNITED HEALTHCARE UNITED HEALTHCARE $605.51 ↓ -66%
GEHA UNITED HEALTHCARE $605.51 ↓ -66%
LUCENT HEALTH AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
AETNA AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
ASR HEALTH BENEFITS AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
FIRST HEALTH AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
AETNA DOMESTIC AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
MEDICAL MUTUAL AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
LUMINARE HEALTH AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
COVENTRY AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
MERITAIN AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
WEBTPA AETNA $613.57 ↓ -65%
CIGNA EAP CIGNA $1,060.92 ↓ -40%
CIGNA CIGNA $1,060.92 ↓ -40%
HEALTH PARTNERS HEALTH PARTNERS $1,122.81 ↓ -36%
AUXIANT MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,149.33 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,149.33 ↓ -35%
MIDLANDS CHOICE MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,149.33 ↓ -35%
MEDICA MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO $1,149.33 ↓ -35%
USA MANAGED CARE USA MANAGED CARE $1,502.97 ↓ -15%
CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE CRIME VICTIMS $1,768.20 ↑ +0%
IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOURSELF $1,768.20 ↑ +0%

Visitor-reported prices

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F-18 fdg pet diag at other Iowa hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center Davenport $259.80 not published
MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center New Hampton $1,768.20 $700.03 – $1,768.20
MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center Dyersville $1,768.20 $668.38 – $1,990.29
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center Clinton $1,768.20 $500.40 – $1,768.20
MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center Oelwein $1,768.20 $675.81 – $1,768.20
MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls $1,768.20 $415.53 – $1,768.20
MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Elkader $1,768.20 $910.09 – $1,848.12
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines $1,768.20 $355.41 – $1,768.20

All Iowa hospitals for this procedure →