Buchanan County Health Center
1600 First St East, Independence, IA 50644 · 88 Priced Procedures · 87% Patient Recommendation
Typical commercial prices here match the fair market benchmark (1.00×) after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Specialty Drug & Surgical Margin Engine
Buchanan County Health Center concentrates commercial margin in outpatient surgical suites (1.6× Medicare) and specialty drug infusions (9.0× Medicare) relative to routine diagnostics (10.1×). Comparing freestanding ambulatory surgery centers or specialty pharmacy options before treatment yields substantial savings.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.78× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 43% of shoppable procedures (98/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (74/100 safety score) with 87% patient recommendation
- Binding Good Faith Estimate rights under 45 CFR § 149.610 protect self-pay patients before scheduling
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.6× markup over Medicare rates
- Captive ER (1.6×) & laboratory (14.2×) services average 1.21× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (7.8×)
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.28×) jump +28% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 1.00×)
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 10.5× Medicare (15¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
Procedure Prices at Buchanan County Health Center
High-impact clinical procedures (MRIs, surgeries, inpatient stays, visits) are prioritized first. Use the category pills or search bar to filter all 88 published procedures.
| Procedure & Billing Code | This Hospital | vs. Fair |
|---|---|---|
| MRI, brain (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70553 | $6,223 | unverified |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (with contrast) CPT Code: 74177 | $3,782 | unverified |
| Sleep study (overnight, in lab) CPT Code: 95810 | $3,761 | unverified |
| MRI, brain (no contrast) CPT Code: 70551 | $3,363 | unverified |
| MRI, lower back (no contrast) CPT Code: 72148 | $3,345 | unverified |
| MRI, knee or other leg joint CPT Code: 73721 | $3,345 | unverified |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (no contrast) CPT Code: 74176 | $3,072 | unverified |
| Gallbladder removal (laparoscopic) CPT Code: 47562 | $3,038 | 0.5× |
| CT scan, head (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70470 | $2,952 | unverified |
| CT scan, head (with contrast) CPT Code: 70460 | $2,656 | unverified |
| Inguinal hernia repair CPT Code: 49505 | $2,492 | 0.7× |
| CT scan, neck (cervical spine) CPT Code: 72125 | $2,346 | unverified |
| CT scan, chest (no contrast) CPT Code: 71250 | $2,161 | unverified |
| Colonoscopy with biopsy CPT Code: 45380 | $2,073 | 1.7× |
| CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) CPT Code: 72131 | $2,058 | unverified |
| Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) CPT Code: 93306 | $2,036 | unverified |
| CT scan, head (no contrast) CPT Code: 70450 | $1,891 | unverified |
| CT scan, pelvis CPT Code: 72192 | $1,865 | unverified |
| Trauma team activation HCPCS Code: G0390 | $1,802 | 1.2× |
| CT scan, sinuses CPT Code: 70486 | $1,798 | unverified |
| Colonoscopy (diagnostic) CPT Code: 45378 | $1,609 | 1.6× |
| Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex) CPT Code: 93970 | $1,631 | unverified |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (complete) CPT Code: 76700 | $1,448 | unverified |
| Ultrasound, pelvis CPT Code: 76856 | $909 | unverified |
| Upper endoscopy with biopsy CPT Code: 43239 | $809 | 0.8× |
Audit a Bill or Quote at Buchanan County Health Center (Zero PHI Required)
Above Standard 400% FPL Financial-Assistance Ceiling
At 274% FPL, you exceed the standard 400% FPL tier, though medical-hardship caps (when bills exceed 10% of annual income) may still apply.
Self-Pay Cash Rate ($6,223) Beats Your Bill
Buchanan County Health Center's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $6,223 (vs. $6,223 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $511 Fair BaseRate ($356 Medicare)
Your bill ($7,321) is $6,810 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($511) and 20.6× the $356 Medicare rate.
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) & Amounts Generally Billed (AGB)
Public IRS & CMS ownership records classify Buchanan County Health Center as a non-501(c)(3) facility. Federal 26 U.S.C. § 501(r) statutory charity-care caps apply specifically to tax-exempt nonprofit hospitals, though state hospital fair-pricing statutes and prompt-pay self-pay discounts may still apply.
Clinical Quality, Patient Experience & Infection Benchmarks
Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare (34 completed HCAHPS patient surveys). Clinical quality metrics summarize historical facility-wide cohorts and are not medical advice for individual care decisions.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
2D regional comparison of commercial negotiated price index against CMS clinical quality composite for Buchanan County Health Center.
Verify the Raw Data: Official Hospital MRF, CMS Medicare.gov & Federal Filings
Safe-Harbor Data Corrections: Parsed directly from public 45 CFR § 180 hospital filings, CMS Care Compare, and CMS HCRIS cost reports. Hospital compliance officers may submit updated MRF URLs or rate tables for verification.