Well, I'm glad it worked out for you. Hopefully, your Son is fine as well. Back in 2005 I had a pulmonary embolism attack. Went straight to the hospital and ended up there for 3 days. I had no insurance and was between jobs. Final bill was $12k. The hospital would not take one dime off the bill claiming I owned a business (consulting). That nearly cleaned out my savings. Sheesh! Fast forward to more recently: I now have insurance. I've been back to the hospital after cutting off the tip of my finger with a planar. The hospital was forced to give the insurance and discounted "in network" rate which was passed on to me on the final bill. With that said, my 22 year old Son had a shotgun pellet ricochet into his shin (dont ask). I took him to a walk-in Urgent Care, told them I was paying cash and they did give me a cash discount. So, I guess the results will vary depending on the provider but I'm not seeing hospitals giving discounts and that the big one if you need it.
On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 5:56 PM, Cameron Crum <[email protected]> wrote: > Negotiate directly with your doctor or the hospital. I've been cash pay for > years. About a year and a half ago, my then 2 year old got outside > un-noticed and fell into our pool. He was at the bottom when we found him > and my wife, being a trained lifegaurd, was able to perform cpr and get his > pulse and breath back. That combined with the cold temperature of the water > (early december), and the grace of God left him with no brain damage or > permanent problems. Our trip to the ermergency room plus overnight stay in > the hospital was more than $12,000. I negotiated with the hospital, the > doctors, and the ambulance company (all different bills) to get my bill down > to less than $5000. It took about 1 hour of my time. Had I had insurance, I > would have had to pay the full $5000 or $10000 deductable. So in this case > it worked out for me. My family is extrememly healthy. Our kids go to the > doctor maybe once a year and I can't remember the last time I saw a doctor. > My wife just had arthoscopic surgurery on knee in the spring and agian, > paying cash, I walked away with about a 50% dicount. As we get older, I'll > probably consider getting insurance as age typically means more trips to the > doc. and on average it will become cheaper to pay the insurance bills than > to fund it in cash. I don't know what age that will be, but I'll keep you > guys posted... > > Cameron > > On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 10:02 AM, RickG <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> How do you negotiate that? I've tried and they same we pay their >> standard rate. After moving back to health insurance, we always see a >> discount, especially on "in network" doctors. >> >> On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 12:34 AM, Blake Bowers <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> > We are cash pay. Regular DR visits are half of what the >> > quoted rate is. >> > >> > Hospital is pretty much the same way. >> > >> > >> > Don't take your organs to heaven, >> > heaven knows we need them down here! >> > Be an organ donor, sign your donor card today. >> > >> > ----- Original Message ----- >> > From: "Faisal Imtiaz" <[email protected]> >> > To: <[email protected]> >> > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:19 PM >> > Subject: Re: [WISPA] [WISPA Members] Health Insurance >> > >> > >> >> That is very interesting... it is the first time I am hearing as >> >> such... >> >> Our experience has been on the contrary... Without the insurance >> >> company's pre-netogitated discounts, it is impossible to get a >> >> reasonable bill.. >> >> more like.. They stick to you as a cash paying customer.. >> >> >> >> Faisal Imtiaz >> >> Snappy Internet& Telecom >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On 7/30/2010 9:20 PM, Roger Howard wrote: >> >>> I had a friend who had a triple heart bypass. They gave him the bill >> >>> for loadsa money, assuming he would pay it over a long period of time. >> >>> When he said he was paying cash outright, it cost a tiny fraction of >> >>> the amount the bill was for. >> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> >> >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> > http://signup.wispa.org/ >> > >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > >> > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> > >> > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> > >> > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! 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