I had a hernia surgery shortly after a plan change. The hospital believed insurance wouldn't cover, so they discussed cash pricing with me of around 7k. The ins

I had a hernia surgery shortly after a plan change. The hospital believed insurance wouldn't cover, so they discussed cash pricing with me of around 7k. The insurance ended up covering their portion with me paying about 2k out of pocket. But then I almost had a hard attack when the statement arrived. The first number I saw was 24k, WTF!! Well, reading on there was a very large "discount" applied and the final bill to the insurance company was about right. I could only imagine though, that under some circumstance, the hospital would have tried to stick me with that totally bogus 24k bill had the insurance not covered it or the pricing not been negotiated in advance..