I am also a cash patient and have found the exact opposite, I pay MUCH
less by paying CASH! My mom and I see the same Dr. My office visit is
$60.00, she is on Medicare her same office visit is $160 .00 Medicare
actually pays $45.00. Target offers prescriptions for non insured at a very
low cost. I have an autoimmune disorder and paying cash has been much
less expensive than insurance!!
So if I understand you correctly, if I go into Target and say, "Here is a prescription my doctor wrote me for my asthma inhaler. What will it cost me if I pay cash, and what will it cost if I use my insurance to pay for it?" that the amount of money I will have to pay is more if I use insurance? That is not what I found last week. The charge at the Target pharmacy was $223 for my Qvar inhaler if I paid cash, $12 if I had insurance. No one would ever have or use insurance if it cost less to pay for medical services without it.