Mason City Area Hospital Prices
Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Mason City, IA. Part of all Iowa hospital prices.
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.Good Deal · Below Fair Market
0.93×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price7% Below Fair Price
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.
Typical commercial prices here are 7% below the fair benchmark (0.93×) after accounting for local nurse/doctor 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.1 Hospitals Mapped
Hospitals Priced1 in IATotal hospitals in Iowa with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Iowa hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in IA0.93× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Iowa: Mercyone North Iowa Medical Center (Mason City) at 0.93× fair market price.
Most affordable Iowa hospital: Mercyone North Iowa Medical Center (Mason City) at 0.93× the fair price (7% below benchmark).
Behavioral Pricing FingerprintConsistent Department Multiples
Aligned Regional Benchmark Peer
Mercyone North Iowa Medical Center prices shoppable and inpatient services (0.9× to 1.3× Medicare, divergence 1.44×) in alignment with regional hospital peers (0.93× Fair BaseRate). Reviewing plan-specific negotiated rates and cash discounts helps lock in the lowest out-of-pocket tier.
#31 of 87 in IA · 34th State Percentile#845 of 3,385 in U.S. · 24th National Percentile
Advantage
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 7% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.93×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 16% of shoppable procedures (62/100 Cash Honesty)
- 2-Star CMS clinical rating with 58% patient recommendation (62/100 safety score)
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (29.5% AGB cap)
Watchout
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.93× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
- Captive ER (0.4×) & laboratory (2.0×) services average 1.44× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (0.9×)
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.93× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 10,000) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
0.9× Medicare
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Back-Door Captive & ER1.44× Divergence
1.3× Medicare
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Quantile Tail Spread+12% Upper Tail
Q25 0.64× · Q50 0.95× · Q75 1.06×
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
Select any lens to inspect department markups, federal cost accounting, or insurer discounts.
Department & Integrity Multiples (vs. CMS Medicare Cost Anchor)
Green ≤1.3× · Teal 1.3–1.8× · Amber 1.8–2.5× · Rose >2.5×
Front-Door Shoppable CareFront-Door Shoppable
0.9× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
1.6× MedicareGood
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
2.0× MedicareGood
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
0.7× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
16% Cash Edge · 62/100Elevated
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
2 CMS · 62/100Elevated
Hospitals in the Mason City area
Ranked by how their prices compare to the fair BaseRate — best value first. The × fair figure is geo-adjusted. Tap any hospital for its full price list.
- Mercyone North Iowa Medical Center · Mason City 60/100 112 priced 0.93× fair
Care-Setting Arbitrage, Bilateral SVD Insurer Leverage & Regional Alternatives
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
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 →