From what I understand (which is honestly not much), I think in cases like this you can contact the hospital and just insist on paying the same amount your insurance would have paid, and they'll often take it. That's just what I hear, though.
This is horrible advice. Do not agree to pay a penny of that fraudulent bill. If you didn't agree to the service, you should not be liable to pay.
Call the hospital and demand it be removed from your bill. That's what others[1] (including myself) have done and the fraudulent charge was eventually removed.
The absurd part is that you would even need to do this. How many people don't understand you can fight healthcare charges and get them removed? How many have the free time that it takes to call the billing department over and over?
The whole health insurance system is trash and needs to be replaced.
My last visit to a hospital it was requested I arrive 30 minutes early to "fill out paperwork". After arriving at the radiology department an office assistant took me into a nearby room and had me sign consent forms and make payment on the spot. Anxious for my exam I signed everything and handed over my debit card. Later on I realized one of the forms cemented acceptance of the debt and guaranteed my full payment of it. If I chose to I would have very little ground to stand on disputing the costs ($800 for an ultrasound).
Hospitals are for-profit entities that will optimize debt-collection and bargaining power over patients. They will start taking payment upfront as well as influencing patients to choose financing options that are in the best interest of the hospital and not the patient themselves.
It's hard not to feel like the whole system is rotten.
Yes it is, there are several factors jacking up the price in the US. There are some good videos on it on Youtube. I was always wondering why people think that it is a free market there. In Europe there are several countries that let you use private and public health insurance (even at the same time) and you can go to any healthcare provider and still get a reasonable price. In my country the private provider "industry" is booming and most lab work can be done in a private manner, usually for a very reasonable price. Most of this is accessible in a week ahead booking time.
Regardless of insurance, when you offer to pay cash hospitals will often slash the price considerably. If the hospital has to use a debt collection agency, then they're looking at getting a small fraction of the list price back - sometimes an order of magnitude less. They're willing to negotiate accordingly.
Not in all cases - it varies significantly for everyone. In my case the hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and some of the assistants were all billed under different systems and as separate entities. The hospital has nothing to negotiate because they're in-network so I had no balance due (meet my out of pocket maximum).
The surgeon's assistant was the out of network provider and he was also part of a different practice, so it was his practice billing department that would not budge because they deemed their costs as reasonable and "already discounted".
