alt Hacker News>...Funny thing is: if you tell the hospital that you do not have an insurance they will charge you a price that actually sounds reasonable, say $700 for a CT scan
That has not been my experience. Insurance negotiates lower rates and without insurance, the full fare price suggested price has always been higher.
Providers are contractually forbidden by insurers to show you the much lower "out of pocket+ price schule if you have insurance. It's why the first question posed to new patients is always " do you have insurance?"