4 ms·

I dont walk into a Walmart or Target, load my cart up with stuff, have it scanned, walk out the door, and receive a bill 1-12 months later demanding all money p

I dont walk into a Walmart or Target, load my cart up with stuff, have it scanned, walk out the door, and receive a bill 1-12 months later demanding all money paid in full in 30 days. This "negotiation" you mention works 1. If you know the price up front 2. have the leverage to negotiate. And guess what, you have neither of them. This law changes one of those, so that shopping around is at least possible. Aside: I'm surprised a lawyer didn't sue a hospital over Informed Consent via no billing knowledge.

mynameisvlad 9y ago
Not really, there's another comment thread in this post alone which talks about getting a 35% discount just for paying on the spot. It's ridiculously easy to negotiate because the prices are already so inflated that the hospital isn't losing money by offering "discounts" like that.
- crankylinuxuser 9y ago
  Which is funny you mention that... If you don't know the bill, they can't tell you the bill, and they have no way to get the bill until weeks later, how can they "negotiate" when nobody knows? Frankly, that claim sounds like a pile of you-know-what. My bet is they take your money, and then bill you for the rest.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    The negotiation happened when the bill came.
matwood 9y ago
> This "negotiation" you mention works 1. If you know the price up front 2. have the leverage to negotiate. In emergency situations this is hard to do, but I've done it numerous times when needing non-emergency health care. I even call around asking about prices and the cash discount. Oddly enough, a co-worker and I both had the same procedure (back issues ugh) last year at the same doctor. He used his insurance, and I asked about and went the cash route. I ended up paying less for the exact same thing because of how his deductibles worked. It was the end of the year and I guessed I would not hit my yearly deductible so paying cash was the right move.
- DisposableMike 9y ago
  How complicated/extensive was this procedure? I have requested prices for many procedures and only once have I received that information (and like I said in another comment, I received a discount for paying it in full at the time of service). Every other time, every single person I talked to said "I can't give you that information" or "I honestly don't know".
  - matwood 9y ago
    Not too complicated I would imagine, but it was an MRI, doctor visits, and back injections. One place in town laughed when I called and ask for pricing, and when I said I wanted to pay cash they hung up. So it definitely takes some asking around. When I had knee surgery years ago, and had good insurance at the time, I asked the doctor about the price just to see. He was quick to say if I wanted/needed to pay cash he could work something out. So they are out there, but you might have to do some digging. And again, emergency situations are a completely different beast.

mynameisvlad 9y ago

Not really, there's another comment thread in this post alone which talks about getting a 35% discount just for paying on the spot. It's ridiculously easy to negotiate because the prices are already so inflated that the hospital isn't losing money by offering "discounts" like that.

crankylinuxuser 9y ago
Which is funny you mention that... If you don't know the bill, they can't tell you the bill, and they have no way to get the bill until weeks later, how can they "negotiate" when nobody knows? Frankly, that claim sounds like a pile of you-know-what. My bet is they take your money, and then bill you for the rest.
- icebraining 9y ago
  The negotiation happened when the bill came.

matwood 9y ago

> This "negotiation" you mention works 1. If you know the price up front 2. have the leverage to negotiate. In emergency situations this is hard to do, but I've done it numerous times when needing non-emergency health care. I even call around asking about prices and the cash discount. Oddly enough, a co-worker and I both had the same procedure (back issues ugh) last year at the same doctor. He used his insurance, and I asked about and went the cash route. I ended up paying less for the exact same thing because of how his deductibles worked. It was the end of the year and I guessed I would not hit my yearly deductible so paying cash was the right move.

DisposableMike 9y ago
How complicated/extensive was this procedure? I have requested prices for many procedures and only once have I received that information (and like I said in another comment, I received a discount for paying it in full at the time of service). Every other time, every single person I talked to said "I can't give you that information" or "I honestly don't know".
- matwood 9y ago
  Not too complicated I would imagine, but it was an MRI, doctor visits, and back injections. One place in town laughed when I called and ask for pricing, and when I said I wanted to pay cash they hung up. So it definitely takes some asking around. When I had knee surgery years ago, and had good insurance at the time, I asked the doctor about the price just to see. He was quick to say if I wanted/needed to pay cash he could work something out. So they are out there, but you might have to do some digging. And again, emergency situations are a completely different beast.