r/HospitalBills Jun 17 '25

Hospital-Emergency Go through insurance or pay OOP?

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u/Brilliant-Apricot423 Jun 17 '25

But if you go through insurance, they will pay their percentage and your portion will be credited to your out of pocket total. This would help with future charges

1

u/burnerboi1738 Jun 17 '25

That's a good point...

2

u/elsisamples Jun 17 '25

The only time I’d advise not using insurance is if you’re getting treatment on December 31st and it’s cheaper to pay out of pocket—because your deductible/OOP resets on January 1st. If you haven’t met your deductible yet, paying cash might cost less than having the claim go through insurance and count toward a deductible that’s about to reset anyway. That said, this only applies if you’re allowed to opt out, which isn’t common with in-network providers, since they’re typically required to bill your insurance. All other times, you accumulate towards your deductible/OOP max and will pay less for the rest of the year.

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