Emergency department visit (level 1) cost in Iowa

Prices at 54 hospitals in Iowa, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $135 — 35% below the US median ($208), roughly 12.3× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Regional Medical Center Manchester, IA $30 $870 ★ 4/5 147 min 14.3%
Mercyone Elkader Medical Center Elkader, IA $35 $363 102 min 15.5%
Unitypoint Health-Marshalltown Marshalltown, IA $44 $50 ★ 3/5 154 min 15.2%
Trinity Muscatine Muscatine, IA $44 $74 ★ 4/5 135 min 13.9%
St Lukes Hospital Cedar Rapids, IA $44 $88 ★ 4/5 168 min 15.1%
Unitypoint Health-Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA $44 $90 ★ 3/5 188 min 13.5%
Allen Hospital Waterloo, IA $44 $83 ★ 3/5 159 min 15.6%
St Lukes Regional Medical Center Sioux City, IA $44 $88 ★ 2/5 180 min 15.6%
Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell, IA $44 $53 ★ 2/5 104 min 14.9%
Greene County Medical Center Jefferson, IA $50 $28 109 min 15.0%
Stewart Memorial Community Hospital Lake City, IA $64 129 min 15.0%
Humboldt County Memorial Hospital Humboldt, IA $68 $72 96 min 14.8%
CHI Health-Mercy Corning Corning, IA $76 $85 ★ 3/5 131 min 14.8%
CHI Health Missouri Valley Missouri Valley, IA $78 $75 ★ 4/5 102 min 14.9%
Greater Regional Medical Center Creston, IA $86 $96 ★ 3/5 98 min 14.5%
Cherokee Regional Medical Center Cherokee, IA $90 $56 ★ 2/5 132 min 14.8%
University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Down Iowa City, IA $97 $51 ★ 4/5 157 min 15.0%
University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics Iowa City, IA $97 $51 ★ 2/5 210 min 13.5%
Montgomery County Memorial Hospital Red Oak, IA $98 $119 112 min 15.2%
Methodist Jennie Edmundson Council Bluffs, IA $103 $142 ★ 3/5 149 min 15.8%
Ringgold County Hospital Mount Ayr, IA $107 $114 140 min 14.7%
Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Storm Lake, IA $108 $122 ★ 2/5 151 min 15.0%
Palo Alto County Hospital Emmetsburg, IA $125 $158 105 min 14.8%
Finley Hospital Dubuque, IA $128 $85 ★ 3/5 114 min 16.0%
Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa, IA $128 $42 ★ 4/5 113 min 14.7%

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated June 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$175
Cash / self-pay
$135
Insurer-negotiated
$90
Medicare pays
$11
$44$347
Median cash $135  ·  Medicare $11  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $135 — about 12.3× the Medicare rate ($11). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($22).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $175 list price could save about $40 (23%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

Emergency department visit (level 1) cost in other states

All Emergency department visit (level 1) prices (national) → · All hospitals in Iowa →