Health Providers

Start by talking to your doctor/medical professional. Explain your financial situation and ask if he/she can reduce fees. You'd be surprised how open some are to this. Some doctors will give you a 20% discount on their fees if you pay within the first 30 days of service. All you have to do is ask.
If you are to be in a hospital or surgery center and you will not be using your insurance, you can negotiate with them. You can start by offering 60% of their fee and then settle on paying 70% of their fee.
If you have Medicare and your doctor/medical professional does not take Medicare, ask for a discount. It may not always work but it's worth trying.
Doctors, hospitals, surgery centers and other medical professionals would much rather be paid upfront so if you do not have insurance and are negotiating a cash pay, you are in a pretty good position to negotiate a discount.
You can always ask for a payment plan. I have done this myself. Not a discount but at least you don't have to pay everything up front.

• Share a basic description of your problem—one to two sentences is ideal.
• Tell them when you experience symptoms and how often they occur.
• Let them know if anything makes the symptoms better or worse.
• Tell them if you have ever experienced the symptoms before, and under what circumstances.
• Tell them if anyone else in your family or workplace is experiencing the same symptoms.

For more advice about talking to your providers about symptoms, see our full-length feature article: http://www.cfah.org/hbns/preparedpatient/Vol3/Prepared-Patient-Vol3-Issue8.cfm