Cash friendly places are getting more prevalent in the US, but you have to look for them. For example, one of the hospitals in my area publishes this (very san

Cash friendly places are getting more prevalent in the US, but you have to look for them. For example, one of the hospitals in my area publishes this (very sane) price list: http://swedishhospital.com/patient-financial/?page_name=pricing http://swedishhospital.com/patient-financial/?page_name=pric... I go to them. :) There are urgent care centers that are the less-crazy version of ERs, and a lot of primary care stuff can be done self pay. While I have access to insurance through my work, I vastly prefer the quality of the self pay system. You do need to do some research in advance, but there are some pretty cool innovations out there, and services you just can't get via the insurance system. http://theselfpaypatient.com/ http://theselfpaypatient.com/ is a good resource.