A woman used insurance to help pay for her biopsy. Paying cash might have been cheaper.

A South Carolina woman's $18,000 breast biopsy bill may have been cheaper if she paid with cash instead of using her insurance, Kaiser Health News reported Aug. 23. 

Eight things to know:

1. The procedure was performed at Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based Grand Strand Medical Center, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.

2. The hospital did not give her a price, telling her that it would not be clear what type of needle would be needed until the procedure was underway. The type of biopsy needle would affect the price. 

3. The woman searched the hospital's patient payment estimator, which stated that an uninsured patient would owe about $1,400. She also did a Google search, which said the procedure would cost approximately $3,000. 

4. The woman had a high-deductible health plan from Cigna through her employer. 

5. The procedure cost her $17,979, which included lab work, pharmacy charges, and sterile supplies. Cigna's in-network negotiated rate was $8,424.14. The insurer paid the hospital $3,254.47. The woman was billed the balance of her deductible, $5,169.67. 

6. Ge Bai, PhD, an associate professor at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health professor, said hospitals often set their cash prices lower than those for insured patients. She said all patients should ask about the cash price before undergoing a procedure, regardless of insurance status. 

7. A Grand Strand Medical Center spokesperson told Kaiser Health News a glitch involving the hospital's online calculator was to blame for inaccurate information the woman received. The spokesperson said a breast biopsy at the hospital costs between $8,000 and $11,500.   

8. After calling the billing department, the woman was offered a 36 percent discount, lowering the amount to $3,306.29, which she decided to charge to a credit card. 

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