US Health Care Costs

Buchanan County Health Center

1600 First St East, Independence, IA 50644 · (319) 332-0999

Rural (critical access) hospitalVoluntary non-profit - OtherEmergency room

Buchanan County Health Center is a non-profit rural critical-access hospital in Independence, Iowa (Buchanan County), with 25 beds. It has an emergency room. It lists $2.13 for every $1 its care costs, less than the typical Iowa hospital ($3.72).

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Not ratedCMS overall quality rating
$2.13listed for every $1 its care costs Iowa typical $3.72
1 h 30 mintypical ER visit US typical 2 h 28 min
25beds

Quality and patient experience

What patients say

91%would definitely recommend the hospital US typical 71%
90%rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10 US typical 72%

Rated by patients

    Emergency room and urgent care

    1 h 30 mintypical time in the ER before going home US typical 2 h 28 min
    0%left the ER without being seen US typical 1%

    ER volume: low.

    Back in the hospital within 30 days lower is better
    Pneumonia
    17.1%

    US typical hospital. Infection figures are a ratio: 1.00 means as many infections as expected for a hospital like this one. CMS adjusts these rates for how sick the patients are; a small gap from the typical hospital can be chance, so a verdict is shown only where CMS gives one.

    Source: CMS Care Compare, measurement periods ending up to September 2025.

    The money

    $47what care cost the hospital for every $100 it billed
    $10.5Mnet income, all sources
    1.4%margin on patient care alone
    $163,811cost of charity care (0.3% of costs)
    $1.9Munpaid bills written off (bad debt)
    200full-time staff (equivalent)

    From the hospital's Medicare cost report for the year ending June 2025. Non-profit hospitals must have a financial assistance (charity care) policy; ask for it if a bill is hard to pay.

    Cash and insurer prices for this hospital haven't been added yet. The hospital publishes them on its own price page.

    This hospital has no Medicare stay data for 2024. Medicare data covers mostly patients 65 and older, so psychiatric, children's and very small hospitals often don't appear.

    Nearby hospitals

    1.1 miles awayMental Health InstituteIndependence, IANot rated14 miles awayMercyone Oelwein Medical CenterOelwein, IANot rated$2.15 listed per $1 of cost21 miles awayVirginia Gay HospitalVinton, IA★★★★★$1.77 listed per $1 of cost22 miles awayAllen HospitalWaterloo, IA★★★★★$3.62 listed per $1 of cost22 miles awayMercyone Waterloo Medical CenterWaterloo, IA★★★★★$3.70 listed per $1 of cost

    Compare with the two closest