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State Price Transparency Index 101 Mapped Hospitals 139 Shoppable Procedures 0% vs. U.S. Median (near the U.S. average)

Iowa Hospital Rates

Compare cash discount rates, commercial insurance prices, and fair price benchmarks across all 101 Iowa hospitals.

Pillar 1 · The BaseRate™ CompositeHow 1.00× Fair BaseRate Works: Raw price averages unfairly penalize hospitals in high-wage cities or trauma centers treating sicker patients. We adjust for local CMS hospital wage levels and patient complexity first. A 1.00× score means right at the fair price average, 0.85× means 15% cheaper than fair market, and 1.30× means 30% above fair market.Near Fair BaseRate Benchmark
1.00×vs. U.S. Fair Price Average
Position vs. 1.00× Fair PriceRight at U.S. Average (0%) 1.00× (center of the bar) is the U.S. fair price average after accounting for local hospital wages and patient complexity. Left of center (<1.00×) is below fair price; right of center (>1.00×) is above fair price.

Across 101 Iowa hospitals, typical commercial prices match the U.S. fair price average (1.00×) after accounting for local wages and patient complexity.

Pillar 2 · VeriRate™ Data TrustHow VeriRate™ (0–100) Works: Hospitals are legally required to publish machine-readable price files, but some bury fake $0.01 numbers or omit cash discounts. VeriRate audits each file across 5 checks (hover any badge below to see what it tests).86/100 · Verified
86/100Hover Any Check Below to See How Prices Were Audited
File Completeness90Provenance (File Completeness): Checks whether the hospital published a complete, up-to-date machine-readable price file with valid CPT and MS-DRG billing codes instead of leaving blanks.
Price Logic88Coherence (Price Logic): Checks whether the hospital’s numbers make basic sense — e.g., self-pay cash price is lower than gross list price, with no fake $0.01 or $999,999 placeholder numbers.
Peer Alignment86Concordance (Peer Alignment): Checks whether reported prices sit in a realistic range compared to Medicare and nearby hospitals rather than wild 100× unit errors.
Clean Billing83Regularity (Clean Billing): Checks whether rates are structured consistently across procedures without erratic statistical spikes or hidden unbundled facility fees.
Real Cash Discount84Cash Honesty (Real Cash Discount): Checks whether the hospital offers a genuine self-pay cash discount that beats or matches commercial insurance rates instead of billing full sticker price.
Pillar 3 · Iowa Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Iowa, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.101 Hospitals · 139 Procedures
Hospitals Priced101 in IATotal hospitals in Iowa with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.7× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Iowa hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in IA0.57× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Iowa: Iowa Specialty Hospital - Belmond (Belmond) at 0.57× fair market price.

Most affordable Iowa hospital: Iowa Specialty Hospital - Belmond (Belmond) at 0.57× the fair price (43% below benchmark).

Statewide Hospital Pricing Fingerprint101 Iowa Hospitals Analyzed

Iowa Statewide Hospital Pricing Summary

Across 101 reporting hospitals and 139 shoppable procedures in Iowa, typical commercial insurance rates sit at 1.00× the U.S. fair price average (1.7× federal Medicare rates). However, prices vary by 7.6× across the state — from 0.57× fair price at the most affordable hospitals up to 4.32× at high-markup facilities.

State Price Index: 1.00× U.S. Fair AverageAvg Commercial Rate: 1.7× Medicare
Advantage

Best Value in Iowa (Lowest-Priced Hospitals & Patient Edge)

  • Best-value hospital in Iowa: Iowa Specialty Hospital - Belmond (Belmond) prices care at 0.57× the fair price benchmark.
  • Additional low-cost leaders include Winnmed (Decorah, 0.61× fair) and Van Diest Medical Center (0.63× fair).
  • Bottom-quartile Iowa hospitals (Q25) charge 0.88× the fair price or less — comparing quotes before scheduling elective care saves 25%–45%.
  • Nonprofit 501(c)(3) hospitals across Iowa must provide free or discounted charity care under federal 26 U.S.C. § 501(r) income rules.
Watchout

Where Iowa Patients Get Burned (High-Markup Traps)

  • Highest-markup Iowa facilities reach 6.0× Medicare (Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona, Community Memorial Hospital Medical Center).
  • Prices for the exact same procedure swing 7.6× between the lowest-priced (0.57×) and highest-priced (4.32×) hospitals in Iowa.
  • Emergency room, lab, and outpatient surgery facility fees carry significantly higher markups than pre-scheduled imaging or freestanding centers.
Most Affordable IA Hospitals (Bottom 25%)Best Value Tier
0.57× – 0.88× Fair

Led by Iowa Specialty Hospital - Belmond (Belmond) at 0.57× fair price.

Typical Iowa Hospital (State Median)1.7× Medicare
1.13× Fair Price

Middle-of-the-pack commercial rate across all 101 Iowa hospitals.

Highest-Markup IA Hospitals (Top 25%)7.6× State Spread
1.61× – 4.32× Fair

Highest-priced quarter of Iowa hospitals where shopping around saves the most.

Iowa County Price & Affordability Heatmap 78 of 99 Counties with MRF Hospital Data

Iowa County-Level Hospital Price & Affordability Heatmap

Hospital price index, Medicare markup, and household affordability burden across 99 counties in Iowa

<0.94× Affordable 0.94–1.06× Near Avg 1.06–1.20× Elevated >1.20× High-Markup
Polk County3hosps
0.83× Fair
Income $82k
Dubuque County3hosps
0.98× Fair
Income $76k
Black Hawk County3hosps
1.06× Fair
Income $65k
Scott County3hosps
1.24× Fair
Income $76k
Linn County2hosps
0.89× Fair
Income $76k
Clinton County2hosps
0.93× Fair
Income $65k
Sioux County2hosps
1.05× Fair
Income $85k
Johnson County2hosps
1.10× Fair
Income $75k
Carroll County2hosps
1.21× Fair
Income $69k
Wright County2hosps
1.21× Fair
Income $64k
Fayette County2hosps
1.29× Fair
Income $59k
Page County2hosps
1.36× Fair
Income $58k
Story County2hosps
1.47× Fair
Income $69k
Pottawattamie County2hosps
1.47× Fair
Income $71k
Bremer County2hosps
2.01× Fair
Income $83k
Clayton County2hosps
2.01× Fair
Income $62k
Winneshiek County1hosp
0.61× Fair
Income $76k
Hamilton County1hosp
0.63× Fair
Income $72k
Washington County1hosp
0.72× Fair
Income $71k
Des Moines County1hosp
0.74× Fair
Income $61k
Appanoose County1hosp
0.74× Fair
Income $51k
Allamakee County1hosp
0.76× Fair
Income $66k
Clarke County1hosp
0.82× Fair
Income $67k
Poweshiek County1hosp
0.83× Fair
Income $65k
Showing top 24 counties with hospital price filings of 99 total in Iowa

All Hospitals in Iowa (101)

Ranked by how their commercial prices compare to the fair BaseRate — best value first. Select any hospital to inspect its full procedure price list.

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Compare Prices by Procedure in Iowa (139)

High-impact surgeries, scans, and hospital stays are listed first with the typical Iowa price. Search any procedure below.

Browse Iowa by Metro Area

Local hospital comparison pages for each Iowa regional market.

Which Insurers Negotiate Prices in Iowa

Across the 103 Iowa hospitals that publish negotiated rates, here is how many hospitals each major insurance carrier has an in-network contract with.

Blue Cross Blue Shield 101 of 103 hospitals
UnitedHealthcare 96 of 103 hospitals
Aetna 92 of 103 hospitals
Humana 70 of 103 hospitals
Cigna 39 of 103 hospitals
Kaiser Permanente 12 of 103 hospitals

Also negotiating in Iowa: HealthPartners (59) · Molina (58) · Medica (38) · Amerigroup (37) · Ambetter (Centene) (25) · Oscar Health (22).

Prices are sourced from each hospital's federally-required public price file, most recently published October 2026. The BaseRate is a modeled fair-price estimate — not a bill or quote. How we build these numbers →