Pay in cash and get 65% off your hospital bill.

so he only had to pay $200K then?

I didn't hear the final figure. Only that it was less by a huge margin, about 65%.

I did it. Wait till they bill you, the call and ask what is their best cash right now deal.
I suspect they will then expect you to pay as agreed, at least I did.

What did they knock off yours? Big money or no?

If you have insurance, you will see them bill about 30-50% more than the insurance will pay. Hospitals put in a huge markup so they can complain.

I always heard that if you didn't have insurance they would charge you double.

The going rate is rediculous times two.

Yes, you can negotiate lower costs. Needed surgery on broken wrist. Surgeon and anesthesiologist agreed to charge me 50% off, since I could not afford the full charge. Hospital ,after I asked, also cut my bill for the surgery suite by about 40%.

Anyone here ever experience ^that^?

I am interested in other stories like this. PLEASE post if you can.

Also, did you request an itemized bill? If so, did you find it proper? I have read there are many percentages of "boo-boos" found on itemized bills.

I was in outpatient sugery center for less than three hours total from walking into a central Florida hosptal to wheeling out for a tiny bone removed from a big toe. This including going to a room to sign papers, prepping, waiting, surgery and waking up and leaving.

Was billed over 18G. Insurance paid over 11G, I paid almost 500 cash before surgery and after insurance paid and took discount off of fee to hospital I am now being told I owe almost 3 grand still.

That is going to end up being almost 5g per hour with less than an hour and a half in actual sugery...NOT including the doctor and anesthesia doc fees...nice wage for hospital for simple procedure, in my opinion. I know they "provide a sterile environment, etc" but Damn..:)

I plan to ask for an itemed bill as this has blown me away.

Thank you.

Take care all.

lol i remember when they charged me 7usd per asprin on a bill i got when i had to get stitches. I had insurance but i was amazed at the charges i got on the medical bill

OP good post man..i did not know they did such things in U.S. hospitals

That's more or less what I was told. They inflated the bill 65% because she had no insurance then knocked it right back down 65% when he offered cash on the barrel.

'bout half

put a big down and make payments, they have to do the work..so they will take any payment ...cash works very well..

Me neither up until a few hours ago. That's why I figured I should say it. Maybe nobody else knew either.

I guess being more affordable is good news, nice to read good news every now and then.

My daughter paid cash to the surgeon and anesthetist when her gall bladder was removed. Both of them gave her a discount, and the surgeon cut his rate by 50%. She asked the hospital if they would give a discount and they said 'no'.

Of course, my daughter set up a payment plan with them instead of paying cash. BTW, she had no insusrance, but her husband had just inherited a lot of cash. Dumb hospital

This reminds me of the stories I've been hearing lately about a lot of docs going to cash only payment methods, NO other payment methods allowed. Been hearing this in Newport Beach, Ca. If so, it's a disturbing trend. The poor are basically screwed, as usual.

OK, here's my story . I'm in my early 50s. I have had type one diabetes for 44 years, since i was a child. Type one diabetes is completely different than adult diabetes you see so much of today. In type one, your pancreas stops working. It's not because i was fat, i weighed 50 pounds when I was diagnosed, and weighed 125 pounds and 5'9" tall at age 18. My pancreas stopped working when I was 8. Yes , 44 years of taking insuln shots. I have been feeling lifeless for some years now. I have had the classic side effects, eye damage and laser surgery to stop the retina bleeding, nerve damage, etc.

I had a heart attack 3 years ago, emergency triple bypass. I now have congestive heart failure. I had no insurance, since none would cover me, the hospital bill was 260K. In the 260K bill, they charged 1000.00 a session to have a tech hand me a nebulizer for asthma medicine, 40 sessions, 40,000.00 just for that. They waived their bill entirely, all 260K was completely wiped out. Since I came in the emergency room, federal law says they have to treat me. So, they operated an hour later. The surgeon said I have scar tissue on my heart, so i probably had one or more hidden heart attacks.

I probably should have sued my family doctor, since he missed my classic symptoms of heart disease for several years. I even mentioned it to him, and he blew it off, even though diabetics have a huge amount of heart attacks and strokes.

I did pay the docs 14K out of my pocket. Most of the docs cut their bill in half, I'm now broke, no property, and I'm now covered on the state insurance pool, with the premiums paid for by family members. In my situation, I'm better off having no assets, and i really don't have any. I imagine the hospital hired a private detective to check my background and look for assets. I have none, so it does them no good to sue me. Medicaid is next for me.

Now, for you heart patients out there. I highly recommend D-Ribose. It does help me a great deal.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that :-( You talk so matter of fact about it, but I'm sure it must've been much more heartbreaking to you personally than what you described. Words can never do justice to matters of the heart.

I pray you are fully healed in Jesus' name, not only financially, but physically.

She was probably on a Canadian waiting list or didn't want to use the Canadian system for some reason.