I was hospitalized in January for 30 hours.

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My bill was $19,000.

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I did not have insurance.

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And I am so thankful that I did not.

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I went to the hospital for approximately 30 hours here in San Antonio and received some basic diagnostics, blood work, and three liters of IV fluids. My bill came to $19,000 (rounded). I am actually not at all surprised by the price.

 

What was most concerning, is that I discontinued my medical insurance about a year ago (see post). Ironically, this decision not only has already saved me thousands of dollars in premiums, but also saved me on my hospital bill. It turns out that self pay individuals at this hospital are given a 90% discount reducing my hospitalization bill to $1,900 rather than the $5,000 deductible I would have had to pay through traditional insurance.

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Medical insurance already hyper inflates the cost of day to day primary health care, but when it is cheaper to be hospitalized without insurance, we need to start asking questions. Questions like: is traditional health insurance really the best option? Is health insurance really even insurance?

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