this post is just to inform, not debate with anybody. I am 63 and self-employed and have only had health insurance the past 40 years (480 months), about 10% of the time or about 40 months. None of that was continuous, just here and there. During one period of having health insurance, I had a heart ablation. Cost: $75,000. Got lucky! Insurance paid all but about $7,500. I negotiated that $7,500 to half and paid them off to clean up credit report issues.
Now, basically, I just can’t get insurance so last week I negotiated an MRI down from $2,000.00 to $495.00. Then, a few days later, I had a spine lumbar disc procedure. Cost to insurance was $750.00. I paid cash for $366.50.
I estimate that in 40 years I have saved at an average of 5k a year in premiums or about $200,000.00.
Now, there are all sorts of conclusions that all sorts of people can draw about the foregoing experiences. But, one is not debatable. When a patient pays CASH..........the price goes down...........but you gotta shop around and you gotta ASK!
Anybody paying the INSURANCE PRICE is just a damn fool.
THIS ALSO PROVES THAT THE ONLY WAY TO BRING HEALTH CARE COSTS DOWN NATIONALLY IS TO BRING THE PATIENT INTO EACH TRANSACTION WHERE HE/SHE HAS SOME SKIN IN THE GAME! SINCE IT WAS MY MONEY, AND NOT SOME INSURANCE COMPANY’S, I CHECKED AROUND AND DID SOME OLE FASHIONED NEGOTIATING!!
You hit the nail on the head. Let the patient be involved. But like I said, if the hospital will accept a lessor amount from the insurance company it should accept a lessor amount from the cash paying patient.
It has also been my experience to pay as small a deposit as possible up front. They are more than likely to accept less money after the procedure is finished. One of the reasons is they’re getting paid just as much as the insurance company and getting it a lot faster.
It’s been my experience they’ll take about 40% of the bill as paid in full in a one time cash payment, if you can afford it. Write on the check PAID IN FULL. I discounted a bill about 80% and sent a check with PAID IN FULL on the memo. Two days later I got a call saying they couldn’t accept that amount but they would accept 40% but would need a new check. I told her I’d be there in about an hour with a check and she could give me my old check back.
And that’s another thing that pisses me off. It it’s going to take an insurance company 6 months to pay them 40% they should allow cash patients 6 months to pay 40%.
I wonder where you could get your hands on a pay list of the insurance amounts providers will accept for each procedure.