Level 3 ER visit cost in Waterloo, IA
In Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for emergency room visit, level 3 of 5, low-complexity problem: from $129.60 to $148.00, with a median of $148.00. The lowest listed price is at Allen Hospital — $18.40 less than the median here. Across Iowa, the median is $148.00 at 37 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 99283, 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Hospital lowest Waterloo, IA · (319) 235-3941 PR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT LOW MDM | $129.60 | $162.00 | $64.46–$145.66 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| Sartori Memorial Hospital Cedar Falls, IA · (319) 268-3000 PR Emergency Dept Visit Low | $148.00 | $148.00 | $44.30–$148.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Covenant Medical Center Waterloo, IA PR Emergency Dept Visit Low | $148.00 | $148.00 | $44.30–$148.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Allen Hospital Waterloo, IA · (319) 235-3941 HC ED LEVEL 3 VISIT | $599.16 | $748.94 | $229.51–$754.56 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| Covenant Medical Center Waterloo, IA HC ED Type a Level 3 Sane_Safe | $856.70 | $1,318.00 | $130.76–$1,495.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Covenant Medical Center Waterloo, IA HC ED Type a Level 3 | $856.70 | $1,318.00 | $130.76–$1,495.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Sartori Memorial Hospital Cedar Falls, IA · (319) 268-3000 HC ED Type a Level 3 Sane_Safe | $856.70 | $1,318.00 | $138.40–$2,020.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Sartori Memorial Hospital Cedar Falls, IA · (319) 268-3000 HC ED Type a Level 3 | $856.70 | $1,318.00 | $138.40–$2,020.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Sartori Memorial Hospital Cedar Falls, IA · (319) 268-3000 HC ED Type a Level 3 | $1,785.00 | — | $257.18–$2,020.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Covenant Medical Center Waterloo, IA HC ED Type a Level 3 | $1,822.00 | — | $9.09–$1,495.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $129.60, median $148.00, highest $148.00 — a 1.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $156.00. 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 1 of 3 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
This is the middle of five emergency department visit levels, used for a problem of low complexity, for example one that needs a few basic tests. The level is assigned after the visit: doctors pick it by the complexity of their medical decision making, and hospitals pick the facility level by the care and resources used, so a patient cannot choose it in advance.
What the price covers
The hospital price for this code is the facility fee for the ER visit. The emergency physician bills separately, and lab tests, imaging, medicines and procedures are added on top.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 99283 ($585.50). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Allen Hospital Waterloo, IAHC ED LEVEL 3 INIT ASSESS | $44.00 | file |