I’m glad you received the discount. I did ask my GP and he turned me down, although that was only for a visit and not surgery.
I had a friend that had a bill of $17,000. When he offered to write a check for $4,000, they accepted. As I’ve discussed this with various people both in person and on the internet, I’ve discovered lots and LOTS of stories about huge discounts from the original price. And most of them were negotiated after the fact.
Bottom line is that there is no reason something that takes anyone with a status less than God an hour or two to do something should not cost tens of thousands of dollars, regardless of what “magic” equipment they use. And one easy way to save tons of dollars is to always be an outpatient.
BTW, in my little emergency room visit, we negotiated everything down and my wife asked if that was everything. The lady said yes. Six months later we get a collection notice for not paying the doctor. They said they had sent multiple bills. We received none. It was for $700 and we paid it. What the doctor actually did was come in the room with his hands in his pocket and tell me I’m fine and he left.
That and his perusal of the cat-scan (or whatever kind of scan it was) cost $700.
The only way I’ll ever go to an emergency room again is if either I’m unconscious or I’m squirting blood from multiple wounds.