Iowa / Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center
CMS certification 160067 · Waterloo, IA · 3 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center: charges and Medicare payments
Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center reported 718 Medicare inpatient stays across 30 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 3.68 times what it was paid — among the higher ratios in Iowa, number 7 of 27 hospitals with at least 100 stays (state median 3.32×, national 4.15×). Its most frequent stay was DRG 871, Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC: 94 stays at an average charge of $45,766, 49% below the national average. It also billed 1,584 outpatient services, charging 9.54 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 718
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 3.68×
- 3Rank in IA (highest ratio = 1) 7 of 27
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 3
Inpatient stays
For the 30 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center charged more than the national average in 0 (0%). Payments follow Medicare's rates, so they usually vary far less than charges.
| DRG | Stays | Avg charge | vs US | Avg paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 871 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC | 94 | $45,766 | -49% | $14,650 |
| 885 Psychoses | 59 | $13,783 | -69% | $10,807 |
| 470 Major Hip and Knee Joint Replacement or Reattachment of... | 55 | $78,594 | -16% | $14,121 |
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 41 | $29,857 | -47% | $10,095 |
| 322 Percutaneous Cardiovascular Procedures with Intraluminal... | 35 | $79,278 | -31% | $13,589 |
| 897 Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence without Rehabilitation... | 27 | $22,896 | -38% | $7,266 |
| 872 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without MCC | 26 | $27,691 | -44% | $8,560 |
| 190 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with MCC | 24 | $32,882 | -35% | $8,831 |
| 378 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with CC | 23 | $32,834 | -32% | $7,972 |
| 392 Esophagitis, Gastroenteritis and Miscellaneous Digestive... | 23 | $25,175 | -37% | $6,512 |
| 481 Hip and Femur Procedures except Major Joint with CC | 22 | $76,286 | -24% | $15,758 |
| 309 Cardiac Arrhythmia and Conduction Disorders with CC | 21 | $17,179 | -52% | $6,337 |
| 321 Percutaneous Cardiovascular Procedures with Intraluminal... | 19 | $98,481 | -40% | $21,614 |
| 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC | 18 | $33,067 | -45% | $10,164 |
| 698 Other Kidney and Urinary Tract Diagnoses with MCC | 18 | $38,730 | -47% | $13,432 |
| 287 Circulatory Disorders except AMI, with Cardiac... | 17 | $47,559 | -26% | $8,505 |
| 308 Cardiac Arrhythmia and Conduction Disorders with MCC | 17 | $29,339 | -48% | $9,467 |
| 853 Infectious and Parasitic Diseases with O.R. Procedures with... | 17 | $134,472 | -41% | $32,161 |
| 065 Intracranial Hemorrhage or Cerebral Infarction with CC or... | 16 | $26,284 | -53% | $7,748 |
| 280 Acute Myocardial Infarction, Discharged Alive with MCC | 16 | $27,539 | -64% | $10,586 |
| 552 Medical Back Problems without MCC | 16 | $26,855 | -45% | $7,805 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 14 | $37,796 | -46% | $12,864 |
| 641 Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and... | 14 | $23,332 | -37% | $6,703 |
| 690 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections without MCC | 14 | $28,661 | -24% | $6,658 |
| 286 Circulatory Disorders except AMI, with Cardiac... | 13 | $64,435 | -43% | $14,827 |
| 683 Renal Failure with CC | 13 | $22,107 | -46% | $7,328 |
| 189 Pulmonary Edema and Respiratory Failure | 12 | $21,145 | -63% | $9,614 |
| 689 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections with MCC | 12 | $26,797 | -48% | $9,350 |
| 083 Traumatic Stupor and Coma >1 Hour with CC | 11 | $33,977 | -54% | $10,640 |
| 389 Gastrointestinal Obstruction with CC | 11 | $18,670 | -52% | $6,465 |
Outpatient services
Against the Iowa average
For Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC (DRG 871), Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center charged $45,766 on average, 8% less than the Iowa average of $49,919, and was paid $14,650 against a state average of $14,771. For Psychoses (DRG 885), Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center charged $13,783 on average, 48% less than the Iowa average of $26,385, and was paid $10,807 against a state average of $11,411. For Major Hip and Knee Joint Replacement or Reattachment of Lower Extremity without MCC (DRG 470), Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center charged $78,594 on average, 36% more than the Iowa average of $57,857, and was paid $14,121 against a state average of $13,856. For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center charged $29,857 on average, 14% less than the Iowa average of $34,817, and was paid $10,095 against a state average of $9,846. For Level 1 Endovascular Procedures (outpatient APC 5191), its average charge of $20,135 was 2% above the state average of $19,798. For Level 2 Urology and Related Services (outpatient APC 5372), its average charge of $1,641 was 72% below the state average of $5,820. For Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage (outpatient APC 5072), its average charge of $14,458 was 79% above the state average of $8,055. For Level 1 Nerve Procedures (outpatient APC 5431), its average charge of $14,367 was 39% above the state average of $10,301.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center in Waterloo, IA, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- Met Requirements — 2023-07-31 (CMS case 1690)
- Warning Notice — 2025-04-21 (CMS case 3957)
- Closure Notice — 2025-07-25 (CMS case 3957)
A warning notice or corrective-action request is not a finding of wrongdoing; "Met Requirements" and closure notices record that CMS's review ended. Matched to this hospital by exact name, city and state.
Charges are the hospital's list prices averaged over its 2024 Medicare cases; payments are what those cases actually brought in. Neither is what you will pay. For a planned procedure, ask the hospital for its price estimate or, if you are uninsured or self-paying, a good-faith estimate.
Sources: CMS Medicare Inpatient Hospitals — by Provider and Service / by Geography and Service, data year 2024; CMS Medicare Outpatient Hospitals — by Provider and Service / by Geography and Service, data year 2024; CMS Hospital Price Transparency Enforcement Activities and Outcomes, July 2026. Checked 2026-10-24. Methodology.