3 ms·

>>> And given how my insurance doesn't even cover a 30-minute ER visit without sending me a bill in the mail for $1700, it's hardly even worth having insurance

>>> And given how my insurance doesn't even cover a 30-minute ER visit without sending me a bill in the mail for $1700, it's hardly even worth having insurance at all. At least at my age. Until you show up uninsured at the same ER for the same visit and end up with a $10,000 bill because you don't have insurance. Whether it hits your deductible or not, insurance negotiates rates that are easily 75% cheaper than what you'd pay without it.

byuu 10y ago
> Until you show up uninsured at the same ER for the same visit and end up with a $10,000 bill because you don't have insurance. That's the problem, though. If I can't afford it, then it doesn't matter whether they charge me $1,700 I don't have, or $1,700,000 I don't have. Either way, I'm not going to pay it, and it's going to end up going to collections and dinging my credit. Let's say the worst possible case happens and I get cancer. They don't treat you for that in the ER, other than the bare minimum to keep you alive. But to get those ungodly expensive $3,000 a dose drugs would require too much out of pocket. I wouldn't be able to get them with or without insurance.
- ams6110 10y ago
  If you come in with a cash payment offer you can likely get the same discount. You do have to be willing to do a bit of negotiating however. Because nobody without insurance is actually paying those $10,000 bills.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - DoodleBuggy 10y ago
    That is false. You will typically get a 10% or 15% cash discount from the hospital ticket price. Still easily 3x what an insurance company would negotiate for you. Some hospitals allow you to fill out extensive paperwork to apply to have greater bill reductions, and you need to send in several years of tax returns, bank statements, a personal financial statement, an explanation of your situation and why you can't pay in full, etc. It's a grueling, paperwork intensive, and invasive process.
jbpetersen 10y ago
So where in the world are there services you can pay to negotiate your bills downward without keeping them on retainer?

byuu 10y ago

> Until you show up uninsured at the same ER for the same visit and end up with a $10,000 bill because you don't have insurance. That's the problem, though. If I can't afford it, then it doesn't matter whether they charge me $1,700 I don't have, or $1,700,000 I don't have. Either way, I'm not going to pay it, and it's going to end up going to collections and dinging my credit. Let's say the worst possible case happens and I get cancer. They don't treat you for that in the ER, other than the bare minimum to keep you alive. But to get those ungodly expensive $3,000 a dose drugs would require too much out of pocket. I wouldn't be able to get them with or without insurance.

ams6110 10y ago
If you come in with a cash payment offer you can likely get the same discount. You do have to be willing to do a bit of negotiating however. Because nobody without insurance is actually paying those $10,000 bills.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- DoodleBuggy 10y ago
  That is false. You will typically get a 10% or 15% cash discount from the hospital ticket price. Still easily 3x what an insurance company would negotiate for you. Some hospitals allow you to fill out extensive paperwork to apply to have greater bill reductions, and you need to send in several years of tax returns, bank statements, a personal financial statement, an explanation of your situation and why you can't pay in full, etc. It's a grueling, paperwork intensive, and invasive process.

jbpetersen 10y ago

So where in the world are there services you can pay to negotiate your bills downward without keeping them on retainer?