CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, head (with and without contrast)

Facility: Veterans Memorial Hospital

Billing Code: 70470 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price low confidence

A fair price for this

$177

about 1.0× the $179 Medicare rate · typically $82–$1,249

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$60

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $117 under the fair price · 0.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $179 Fair price $177 This hospital $60 Cash price $966 Hospital's list price $1,695

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other IA hospitals

One of the lower prices — 7 of 8 other IA hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

Cheapest $56 Priciest $146

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

⚠ The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.

A fair price for a CT scan, head (with and without contrast) is about $177 (about 1.0× the $179 Medicare rate). Veterans Memorial Hospital charges insurers about $60, or about $966 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Waukon, IA.

What each insurance company pays

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

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

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Humana CignaKaiser 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	$1,021 - $2,019	570%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$346	193%
Aetnamajor	$56 - $1,586	31%
Humanamajor	$47 - $1,781	26%
Amerigroup	$56 - $1,021	31%
Medica	$918 - $1,021	512%
Molina	$56 - $1,211	31%
Quartz	$56 - $1,781	31%
+ 4 smaller / regional plans	$56 - $1,211

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (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 966), 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: 70470.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Veterans Memorial Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70470.
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 Veterans Memorial Hospital

Compare: CT scan, head (with and without contrast) at other IA hospitals

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