You can decline but then you have to deal with people on the desk who may not even know what to do without insurance. They may have to call their boss to figure out if there is even a cash price possible. You will get crazy looks and stares. DOn't let someone tell you otherwise. I have done this dance for 10+ years with 3 kids now.
Do you not have insurance or do you just prefer to pay the cash price where possible? It’s interesting that you might be voluntarily uninsured despite having 3 kids. The system is such that your kids’ health is a bargaining chip to employers. I know people who have stayed at jobs just for the health insurance, and then there are the H1-B folk who are effectively indentured (“yeah we’re paying you $20k below market rate but we are sponsoring you so… try to be a little more grateful”)
I do have insurance because that's the game. I don't like it though. Btw my Insurance Premium is $24k/Year and $5k/Year for deductible. So I am almost $30K out of pocket BEFORE insurance pays a dime. If thats not a scam, what is.
My house has never burned down, but I pay homeowners insurance every year. My dad has never had a car accident, but pays every year. Both have deductibles awaiting us if we need them.
Yikes! That’s horrifically bad insurance, I’m paying $10k in premiums for a $2k deductible. And I was paying (until my company cheaped out on insurance) $15k/yr on a combined in/out $1k deductible and combined in/out $3k OOP. Which might seem worse but we were using fantastic OON providers that normally would barely be covered but instead were essentially the same as in network.
