How much discount could you get from your health insurance when you go to hospital? (Hope it isn't inappropriate to ask?)

It’s a negotiation. I had to have an MRI last year as an outpatient in a hospital. The hospital billing office said they would knock 20% off the cost, and let me pay in two installments, if I paid before the test. It would have been full price if I had to be billed.

Yeah, it’s at least 20 percent more if you don’t have the insurance or don’t pay before. I had some tests done and the bill came back before I had my insurance cards due to a change in companies. Dirtbags.

@wsxwh111 it’s too complicated a system to give a simple answer. Everyone’s insurance plan is different in the way they pay and if you’re not insured you can sometimes negotiate a lower price. There’s no one answer.

One hospital, I know of, wants $10,000 up front if you don’t have insurance and have to be admitted. No discount mentioned.

@janbb Thanks for your explanation:) Didn’t know that before.

You will hear a shameful mix of answers. Remember, the US health care system is privatized. It is not a national health care system like in many other countries. Often, Health care is actually a benefit offered by employers. Some employers provide a “Gold” level plan that pays for everything. Some pay for a “Silver” plan where the employee pays a percentage or a deductible amount. Now, States have gotten into the act. There are “High deductible plans”, “High value plans” and every other name you can think of.
Shameful. The big insurers: Blue Cross Blue Shield Excellus….. all administer this and get a cut. For fun you can look at the salaries given to the top dogs – many $10’s of millions of dollars annually for the CEOs.
Health insurance can cost $300 per month to $2000 (or more) per month depending upon the coverage selected and the person’s income.
Hospitals charge different rates for the same treatment.
I belong to a prostate cancer support group. We did a survey of about 100 guys and were able to compare prices for similar surgery. You can figure an average prostatectomy with no complications will cost about $25,000 here. In Thailand it was $10,000. Some fancy boutique surgeons were in the $60,000 range. The results were the same. The patient did not pay this however. Most have insurance and that paid the bulk.
My surgery cost ~$22,000. My health insurance paid for everything except about $100.
The bottom line is sick people’s bills are subsidized by healthy people who pay and don’t use it – minus the money used for administration and salaries.

My hospital visits are free.

I’m in the US. Sometimes I wind up paying more because I have insurance. It happens more often than you would think.