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Message: <blockquote data-quote="71buickfreak" data-source="post: 2822264" data-attributes="member: 8373">That is a bit of a myth. You can get a cash upfront discount, but it is usually quite small, which is ridiculous considering that my insurance pays a fraction of the actual cost, with a very small copay on my end. I had my esophagus scoped a few months ago. That's a 5k-ish procedure, and my insurance paid maybe 1500. That is one of the reasons medical care costs so much in the US. The insurance companies negotiate lower prices for themselves, and the uninsured pay much, much more. Additionally, most docs and hospitals build in extra charges to cover those that can't/don't pay their bill. Beyond that, prices of equipment and drugs are kept high in the US to provide capital for research. All of that said, medical care is a right, as in you have a right to access medical care. That does not mean it is free or even affordable. You do not have a right to medical insurance, that is a privilege. Medicare is a right and an entitlement. You pay in all your life, you have purchased it already, making the ability to access it a right, but it is also an entitlement at the same time.</blockquote>