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So few people self pay that hospitals just aren't set up to make the experience make sense. All of their resources are devoted to dealing with insurers and the
by noelsusman 7y ago
So few people self pay that hospitals just aren't set up to make the experience make sense. All of their resources are devoted to dealing with insurers and the government.
- Broken_Hippo 7y agoSure, few people self-pay for the entire thing. Many, many people pay a deductible, though. Many people pay a copayment. For these, you can still quote the cash price, I would thing, or give a range for what the entire thing costs, explaining the range is because of insurance discounts. In the age of modern tech, this shouldn't be a big deal.
- perl4ever 7y agoI had an appointment that was billed at $400, if I recall correctly, while one insurance allowed $140 and another $70. That's the total cost, none of which was paid by insurance due to a large deductible. LabCorp I think has been similarly marked down from hundreds to tens, although I don't remember numbers. I don't think it's uncommon to have the official price be multiples of what's reasonable just in case someone might pay it. A long time ago, I was told that a local hospital automatically gave half off if you paid cash. But that could well be gouging relative to insurance or Medicare.