States / Iowa
IA · 31 hospitals · #40 of 51 by charge gap
Hospital prices in Iowa
30 Iowa hospitals reported 45,476 Medicare inpatient stays in 2024. The median hospital charged 3.32 times what it was paid — below the national median of 4.15×, number 40 of 51. The widest gap was at University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Down (5.39×), the narrowest at Trinity Muscatine (1.28×). CMS's price-transparency list records 262 enforcement actions involving 104 Iowa hospitals.
1 2 3 4 1 Median charge ÷ paid 3.32× 2 Hospitals reporting 31 3 Medicare inpatient stays 45,476 4 Price-transparency actions 262 University of Iowa Health Care... 5.39× Mercyone Des Moines Medical... 5.16× Unitypoint Health - Des Moines... 4.42× University of Iowa Health Care... 4.35× Mercyone North Iowa Medical... 4.27× Mary Greeley Medical Center 3.75× Mercyone Waterloo Medical... 3.68× CHI Health Mercy Council... 3.63× Mercyone Dubuque Medical... 3.63× Ottumwa Regional Health Center 3.58× Mercy Medical Center - Cedar... 3.54× Mercyone Genesis 3.52× Mercyone Siouxland Medical... 3.4× St Lukes Hospital 3.32× Mercyone Clinton Medical... 3.31× Inpatient charge-to-payment ratio, the 15 Iowa hospitals with the widest gap (100+ Medicare stays), bars to scale. Source: CMS DY2024. Most common stays in Iowa
DRG Stays IA avg charge US avg charge IA avg paid 871 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with...5,143 $49,919 $90,297 $14,771 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC2,899 $34,817 $56,380 $9,846 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC1,449 $33,652 $59,757 $10,047 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC1,300 $42,217 $70,592 $12,510 189 Pulmonary Edema and Respiratory Failure1,215 $39,347 $57,570 $10,151 885 Psychoses1,170 $26,385 $44,040 $11,411 872 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without...1,009 $28,872 $49,049 $8,049 280 Acute Myocardial Infarction, Discharged Alive with MCC947 $45,889 $75,821 $11,840 065 Intracranial Hemorrhage or Cerebral Infarction with CC...809 $38,895 $55,724 $8,335 378 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with CC792 $30,235 $48,550 $7,517
Every hospital
Hospital Stays Ratio Actions Unitypoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines 6,688 4.42× – University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Iowa City 6,003 4.35× – Mercyone Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines 5,130 5.16× 2 Mercyone Genesis Davenport 3,386 3.52× – Mercyone Dubuque Medical Center Dubuque 2,828 3.63× 3 Mercyone North Iowa Medical Center Mason City 2,500 4.27× 3 St Lukes Hospital Cedar Rapids 2,293 3.32× – Mercy Medical Center - Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids 2,126 3.54× – Mary Greeley Medical Center Ames 1,766 3.75× 4 Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center West Burlington 1,640 2.73× 3 Allen Hospital Waterloo 1,607 2.72× – St Lukes Regional Medical Center Sioux City 1,341 2.79× – Methodist Jennie Edmundson Council Bluffs 1,154 3.17× 1 University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Down Iowa City 1,004 5.39× – Mercyone Siouxland Medical Center Sioux City 921 3.4× 3 Finley Hospital Dubuque 810 2.64× – Trinity Regional Medical Center Fort Dodge 737 3.07× – Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo 718 3.68× 3 CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs Council Bluffs 651 3.63× 3 Mercyone Clinton Medical Center Clinton 521 3.31× 3 Spencer Municipal Hospital Spencer 378 1.96× – Trinity Bettendorf Bettendorf 232 3.14× – Ottumwa Regional Health Center Ottumwa 198 3.58× 2 Trinity MuscatineMuscatine 194 1.28× – Lakes Regional Healthcare Spirit Lake 169 2.44× 2 Unitypoint Health - Marshalltown Marshalltown 156 1.59× 3 Grinnell Regional Medical Center Grinnell 131 2.52× – Broadlawns Medical Center Des Moines 92 2.25× 4 Mercyone Newton Medical CenterNewton 77 2.28× 2 Mercyone Cedar Falls Medical Center Cedar Falls 25 7.01× 2 St Anthony Regional Hospital & Nursing HomeCarroll 0 – –
Price-transparency enforcement in Iowa
90 “met requirements” findings, 75 closure notices, 74 warning notices, 23 corrective-action-plan requests — CMS's actions under the hospital price-transparency rule since 2021. See the enforcement page for what each step means.
Sources: CMS Medicare Inpatient 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 .