Hospital Charges

MercyOne is proud of our commitment to living out the healing ministry of the Judeo-Christian tradition by providing exceptional and compassionate health care services that promote the dignity and well-being of the people we serve. That means providing care to persons in need, regardless of their ability to pay. We also recognize our responsibility to all patients and payers to attempt to obtain payment from those able to pay.

In this spirit, we have taken steps to ensure price transparency by providing the hospital’s standard charges for items and services.The following information is available to you:

• MercyOne participates with the Iowa Hospital Association and the www.iowahospitalcharges.com website so you can compare charges among local hospitals.
• This comparison tool provides standard charge information related to inpatient care and outpatient services.
• This tool provides basic information on hospital charges, but patients should also check with their physician or specialists’ billing office as Iowa Hospital Charges Compare only posts information related to hospital charges.
• It is important to note, a hospital “charge” is not the same as “expected payment”. “Charge” is the amount billed for a service. In the vast majority of cases, hospitals are paid considerably less than the billed amount. Because each person’s case is different based on that patient’s medical condition, a given patient’s charge will not necessarily be the same as the average or median charge. Furthermore, the actual amount paid by a patient will depend on that patient’s insurance coverage.
• You can also visit www.aha.org to access the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Understanding Healthcare Prices: A Consumer’s Guide as well as other helpful information and videos.
• MercyOne provides financial assistance to those who qualify. Click here to access out Community Care page. Click here to download the application.

If you have any questions about hospital charges at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center, MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center, and MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center, please contact us at 319-272-1599 for assistance. So you can make informed decisions about your health care, we can refine the charge estimate taking into account your specific insurance coverage.