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Saving on sky-high medical bills

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    Some hospitals offering steep discounts if you ditch insurance, pay cash

  • Duration 2:14
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So saving big on sky high medical bills if you pay -- time and you're even willing to ditch your insurance altogether you can see some very big savings in your medical bills.

-- -- -- -- -- -- From San Francisco -- Claudia.

-- good morning Martha that's right hard to believe you might actually save money by not using your insurance.

But across the country today hospitals are offering cash discounts and other incentives to their patients so they can get their money faster.

At marine general just north of San Francisco.

Patients with insurance who settle their hospital bills right away can get 25% off.

Even those without insurance could get as much as half off their bill if they pay the hospital directly within thirty days.

For those patients that are in a position to pay their bill promptly it's good for them because they get a discount.

And it's good for the hospital because it saves us money on the back -- on the collection time.

Administrators say collecting payments cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After they -- the insurance company it can take up to six months to get reimbursed and only then do they -- the patient.

Health care experts say bad debt is putting hospitals at risk.

It's an industry that faces hard times.

And most would say if you can collect something.

It's better than taking a chance on collecting nothing take about five.

-- -- to really deep breaths doctors like Alameda California internist David -- are also -- deals to patients who give them cash up front.

But somebody cost me with a fifty dollar bill and says doctor -- -- me I don't have to bill the insurance company we shall give me eight you know major headache.

Doctor -- website the true cost of health -- advises patients to negotiate and find out if they can lower their bill by not using their insurance.

Now for a lot of people of course that may not be possible but the take away here is that patients need to become.

Active consumers because of the bill they get Martha.

Might not necessarily be the bill they have to play and says a lot about the underlying issues with regard to why health care is so expensive.

And try out the middleman may make things a better deal for some people I am really interesting thank you so much.

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