CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (with and without contrast)

Facility: CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs

Billing Code: 70553 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$865

about 2.4× the $356 Medicare rate · typically $594–$1,328

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$859

About the fair price

about $6 under the fair price · 2.4× Medicare

Medicare pays $356 Fair price $865 This hospital $859 Cash price $1,864 Hospital's list price $4,438

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other IA hospitals

Highest price of the 9 IA hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $100 Priciest $859

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 IA hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

A fair price for a MRI, brain (with and without contrast) is about $865 (about 2.4× the $356 Medicare rate). CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs charges insurers about $859, or about $1,864 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Council Bluffs, IA.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

3 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Humana AetnaCignaKaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$348 - $2,041	98%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$348	98%
Humanamajor	$348	98%
Ambetter (Centene)	$339 - $666	95%
Amerigroup	$339 - $365	95%
Medica	$348 - $2,308	98%
Molina	$346	97%
+ 11 smaller / regional plans	$348 - $2,663

Excludes 3 rental-network / third-party entries (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price (about 1,864), before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the CPT code on your bill matches exactly: 70553.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70553.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs

Compare: MRI, brain (with and without contrast) at other IA hospitals

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.