CMS Price Transparency Data

Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)

Facility: Mercyone Elkader Medical Center

Billing Code: 93306 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price low confidence

A fair price for this

$533

about 1.0× the $558 Medicare rate · typically $169–$1,466

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$118

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $415 under the fair price · 0.2× Medicare

Medicare pays $558 Fair price $533 This hospital $118 Cash price $839 Hospital's list price $1,290

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other IA hospitals

A typical price — 5 charge more and 3 charge less, among the 9 IA hospitals compared.

Cheapest $95 Priciest $178

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 Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) is about $533 (about 1.0× the $558 Medicare rate). Mercyone Elkader Medical Center charges insurers about $118, or about $839 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Elkader, 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✓ Cigna HumanaKaiser 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	$127 - $2,056	23%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$118 - $1,210	21%
Aetnamajor	$118 - $1,730	21%
Cignamajor	$225 - $2,303	40%
Ambetter (Centene)	$201 - $2,053	36%
GEHA	$201 - $2,056	36%
HealthPartners	$221 - $2,261	40%
Medica	$225 - $2,303	40%
Medical Mutual	$169 - $1,730	30%
+ 18 smaller / regional plans	$143 - $2,456

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid.

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 839), 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: 93306.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Mercyone Elkader Medical Center is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 93306.
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 Mercyone Elkader Medical Center

Compare: Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) at other IA hospitals

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