Breathing treatment cost in Des Moines, IA
In Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for breathing treatment (nebulizer or inhaler) for airway obstruction: from $37.60 to $400.00, with a median of $132.80. The lowest listed price is at UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi — $95.20 less than the median here. Across Iowa, the median is $87.84 at 37 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 94640, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 28, 2026 and Mar 31, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi lowest Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 PR PRESSURIZED/NONPRESSURIZED INHALATION TREATMENT | $37.60 | $47.00 | $6.94–$48.24 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi lowest Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 PR PRESSURIZED/NONPRESSURIZED INHALATION TREATMENT | $37.60 | $47.00 | $6.94–$48.24 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines, IA · (515) 247-4436 PR Treatment Inhalation Pressurized/Nonpressurized Acute Airway Obstruction | $68.00 | $68.00 | $5.87–$68.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center - Newton Newton, IA · (641) 792-1273 HC Treatment Inhalation Pressurized/Nonpressurized Acute Airway Obstruction | $197.60 | $304.00 | $197.60–$425.12 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC MDI AIRWAY INHALATION TX INITIAL | $228.62 | $285.77 | $74.87–$522.35 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT SUBQ | $228.62 | $285.77 | $95.16–$494.98 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC MDI AIRWAY INHALATION TX SUBQ | $228.62 | $285.77 | $95.16–$494.98 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC MDI AIRWAY INHALATION TX INITIAL | $228.62 | $285.77 | $95.16–$494.98 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT SUBQ | $228.62 | $285.77 | $74.87–$522.35 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC MDI AIRWAY INHALATION TX SUBQ | $228.62 | $285.77 | $74.87–$522.35 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT INITIAL | $249.36 | $311.69 | $103.79–$494.98 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Iowa Methodist Medi Des Moines, IA · (515) 343-1000 HC AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT INITIAL | $249.36 | $311.69 | $81.66–$522.35 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines, IA · (515) 247-4436 HC Treatment Inhalation Pressurized/Nonpressurized Acute Airway Obstruction | $259.35 | $399.00 | $80.20–$425.12 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa West Des Moines, IA HC Treatment Inhalation Pressurized/Nonpressurized Acute Airway Obstruction | $400.00 | $400.00 | $80.40–$425.12 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Des Moines, IA · (515) 247-4436 HC Treatment Inhalation Pressurized/Nonpressurized Acute Airway Obstruction | $2,386.00 | — | $88.83–$724.45 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center - Newton Newton, IA · (641) 792-1273 HC Treatment Inhalation Pressurized/Nonpressurized Acute Airway Obstruction | $32,708.86 | — | $9.09–$24,925.18 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $37.60, median $132.80, highest $400.00 — a 10.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $122.49. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 3 of 4 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
A breathing treatment delivers medicine such as albuterol through a nebulizer or inhaler to open the airways during an asthma or COPD flare.
What the price covers
The price is for one treatment. Repeated treatments in one visit can each be billed, and the medicine may be billed separately.