Cheapest hospitals in Des Moines, IA without insurance
Of 8 hospitals in the Des Moines, IA area we can compare, Broadlawns Medical Center (Des Moines) has the lowest cash prices: its typical outpatient price is 7% below the Iowa median across 374 procedures. The ranking compares each hospital's own cash price with the median of all hospitals in its state, procedure by procedure.
Collected Sep 27, 2026 Hospitals with at least 30 comparable procedures
| Hospital | Typical price vs state | Below median | Above median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Broadlawns Medical Center Des Moines | 7% below | 208 of 374 | 159 of 374 |
| 2. Madison County Memorial Hospital Winterset | 1% above | 159 of 335 | 171 of 335 |
| 3. Dallas County Hospital Perry | 2% above | 146 of 319 | 165 of 319 |
| 4. Guthrie County Hospital Guthrie Center | 14% above | 53 of 189 | 133 of 189 |
| 5. Mercy Medical Center - Newton Newton | 19% above | 45 of 269 | 203 of 269 |
| 6. UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medical Des Moines | 30% above | 106 of 302 | 182 of 302 |
| 7. MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines | 71% above | 37 of 340 | 295 of 340 |
| 8. Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa West Des Moines | 164% above | 10 of 278 | 268 of 278 |
How the ranking works
- For every procedure, we take the hospital's lowest outpatient cash price and compare it with the median of all hospitals in the same state that publish a cash price for the same code (only codes with at least three hospitals in the state).
- "Typical price" is the middle of those comparisons: half of the hospital's procedures are cheaper than that, half are dearer. One expensive surgery does not outweigh a hundred cheap lab tests, and the other way round.
- Hospitals with fewer than 30 comparable procedures are left out: with a handful of codes the place would be decided by chance.
- Prices far below every other hospital are worth a phone call: some price files list only part of a service (for example the facility fee without the doctor's fee), or a discount that depends on income.
- A low rank does not mean every price is low. Open the hospital to see the procedure you need, then ask its billing office for a Good Faith Estimate in writing.