Level 5 ER visit cost in Storm Lake, IA
In Storm Lake, IA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for emergency room visit, level 5 of 5, high-complexity problem: from $494.40 to $494.40, with a median of $494.40. Across Iowa, the median is $367.00 at 37 hospitals.
Cash prices at 1 facility for code 99285, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Storm Lake, IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Regional Medical Center lowest Storm Lake, IA · (712) 732-4030 PR ED LEVEL 5 VISIT | $494.40 | $618.00 | — | 20% | — source file |
| Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Storm Lake, IA · (712) 732-4030 HC ED LEVEL 5 VISIT | $1,291.20 | $1,614.00 | $855.00–$1,565.00 | 20% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $494.40, median $494.40, highest $494.40.
What it is
This is the highest of five emergency department visit levels, used for a serious problem that needs complex evaluation and treatment, often with a hospital admission or transfer. 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 99285 ($1,499.40). 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.
| Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Storm Lake, IAHC ED LEVEL 5 INIT ASSESS | $56.00 | file |