2 ms·

Unfortunately that isn’t much of a factor in reality, and I have the receipts in my filing cabinet to prove it. Insurance/“cash” can “negotiate” but at the end

• MandieD 7y ago
  Good God. I had a small surgery in Germany about 10 years ago that is usually outpatient, but I passed out afterwards, so the doctor had me admitted for overnight observation. Total bill for surgery, lab and the stay in a room with another American lady who was on bedrest with triplets (!!!): 1400 EUR, which my American insurer paid with absolutely no arguments. This was the full retail, premium “private patient” rate - most Germans wouldn’t have even seen a bill that size. A friend in the US had the same procedure outpatient, and it was $6000, $1200 of which she was responsible for. On the upside, they gave her 30 Vicodin for the post-op pain and no follow-up about said opioids, where I only got a week's worth of Tramadol (much less potent) and a follow-up with my regular doc who wanted to know at what rate I was taking them. My friend was slightly tempted to sell her leftovers...