Emergency department visit cost in Iowa

Prices at 52 hospitals in Iowa, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $258 — 56% below the US median ($581), roughly 3.7× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Community Memorial Hospital Medical Center Sumner, IA $75 $56 132 min
Unitypoint Health-Marshalltown Marshalltown, IA $78 $149 ★ 3/5 162 min
Greene County Medical Center Jefferson, IA $96 $86 104 min
Humboldt County Memorial Hospital Humboldt, IA $99 $88 100 min
Cherokee Regional Medical Center Cherokee, IA $104 $56 ★ 2/5 134 min
Jones Regional Medical Center Anamosa, IA $128 $80 ★ 4/5 116 min
Unitypoint Health-Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA $130 $211 ★ 3/5 182 min
Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell, IA $130 $155 ★ 2/5 112 min
Pocahontas Community Hospital Pocahontas, IA $163 $145 120 min
Trinity Regional Medical Center Fort Dodge, IA $170 $222 ★ 2/5 167 min
Trinity-Bettendorf Bettendorf, IA $170 $222 ★ 3/5 205 min
Guttenberg Municipal Hospital Guttenberg, IA $181 $118 96 min
Stewart Memorial Community Hospital Lake City, IA $182 127 min
Mercyone Elkader Medical Center Elkader, IA $185 $108 114 min
CHI Health-Mercy Corning Corning, IA $190 $323 ★ 3/5 124 min
CHI Health Missouri Valley Missouri Valley, IA $194 $311 ★ 4/5 105 min
Greater Regional Medical Center Creston, IA $196 $96 ★ 3/5 101 min
Story County Hospital Nevada, IA $202 $150 102 min
Montgomery County Memorial Hospital Red Oak, IA $206 $326 113 min
Allen Hospital Waterloo, IA $221 $211 ★ 3/5 163 min
Finley Hospital Dubuque, IA $221 $191 ★ 3/5 114 min
University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Down Iowa City, IA $233 $159 ★ 4/5 149 min
University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics Iowa City, IA $233 $159 ★ 2/5 210 min
Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Storm Lake, IA $236 $122 ★ 2/5 152 min
Spencer Municipal Hospital Spencer, IA $258 $289 ★ 4/5 128 min

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 September 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)
$359
Cash / self-pay
$258
Insurer-negotiated
$159
Medicare pays
$69
$123$637
Median cash $258  ·  Medicare $69  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $258 — about 3.7× the Medicare rate ($69). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($139).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $359 list price could save about $101 (28%).

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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 cost in other states

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