“...eventually HMOs...”
I hate to admit we partook in the money-saving benefits of an HMO, but it saved us a ton of $$$ with our first-born. She was a premmie, several weeks in the neo-natal ICU, otherwise healthy child.
We eventually got a bill for $28...only because the hospital mistakenly put the wife-unit in an upgraded room for a night by mistake. $28 was the differential.
That was the ONLY bill we ever received. I could’ve fought it because it was the hospital’s mistake. But hey, I’m a generous guy. I wrote them a check.
The funny thing is, we’d actually changed policies during open enrollment (to an 80/20 plan), but the kid got here early, just before the HMO expired. The HMO covered it all.
You didn't want to pony up an extra 28 bucks to get your wife the best room possible? Man, I hope you had a lot of flowers waiting for her when she got home, and you cooked all the dinners for a year.
;^)