> One major difference is the actual price paid for a medical service by an insurance company is much lower (often 10%) of the cash price. It is often much low

> One major difference is the actual price paid for a medical service by an insurance company is much lower (often 10%) of the cash price. It is often much lower, but it also varies by insurance provider and the specific plan you are on, which can itself (AFAIK) vary depending on when you joined said plan, your group, et c. The hospital can't even guess at a price until they figure out which procedure codes they're going to bill, which itself isn't always clear, then to know what you'll actually pay they have to apply the effects of your specific insurance. It's often quite difficult to get them to do this. Often it will end up being wrong anyway. Bonus: you can't be really really sure your insurance will pay their part until the bill goes out and they do. Sometimes they deny claims. They may be wrong to do so (it's sometimes hard to tell) but even if they are you're in for 100+ hours of work (much of it waiting on hold) to get them to do what they were supposed to.