Tc-99m sulfur colloid at MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center
1755 59th Place, West Des Moines, IA · MercyOne · · NPI 1538395975
$855.40
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$855.40
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$171.94 with HEALTH CHOICES vs $1,089.53 with UNITED HEALTHCARE — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEALTH CHOICES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $171.94 | ↓ -80% |
| MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | MEDICAL ASSOCIATES | $171.94 | ↓ -80% |
| MEDICAL MUTUAL | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| CHRISTIAN BROTHER SERVICES | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| TRUSTMARK SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| LUCENT HEALTH | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| AETNA | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| ASR HEALTH BENEFITS | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FUND | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| FIRST HEALTH | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| AETNA DOMESTIC | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| COVENTRY | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| ALLIED BENEFIT SYSTEMS | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| MERITAIN | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| WEBTPA | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| LUMINARE HEALTH | AETNA | $296.82 | ↓ -65% |
| CIGNA EAP | CIGNA | $513.24 | ↓ -40% |
| CIGNA | CIGNA | $513.24 | ↓ -40% |
| HEALTH PARTNERS | HEALTH PARTNERS | $543.18 | ↓ -36% |
| MIDLANDS | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $556.01 | ↓ -35% |
| MIDLANDS CHOICE | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $556.01 | ↓ -35% |
| MEDICA | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $556.01 | ↓ -35% |
| AUXIANT | MIDLANDS CHOICE PPO | $556.01 | ↓ -35% |
| USA MANAGED CARE | USA MANAGED CARE | $727.09 | ↓ -15% |
| IOWA DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH | CARE FOR YOURSELF | $855.40 | ↑ +0% |
| CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE | CRIME VICTIMS | $855.40 | ↑ +0% |
| GEHA | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $1,089.53 | ↑ +27% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE | UNITED HEALTHCARE | $1,089.53 | ↑ +27% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Tc-99m sulfur colloid at other Iowa hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center | Davenport | $201.60 | not published |
| MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center | Dubuque | $855.40 | $305.38 – $855.40 |
| MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center | New Hampton | $855.40 | $338.65 – $855.40 |
| MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center | Dyersville | $855.40 | $323.34 – $962.84 |
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center | Clinton | $855.40 | $242.08 – $855.40 |
| MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center | Oelwein | $855.40 | $326.93 – $855.40 |
| MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center | Cedar Falls | $855.40 | $201.02 – $855.40 |
| MercyOne Elkader Medical Center | Elkader | $855.40 | $440.27 – $894.06 |