<prompt> Human: tl;dr even if you have insurance, you can negotiate your hospital bill down a significant percentage. I was successful in getting 30 off my latest bill. Thanks, Obama.Ive been futzing with sleep apea for several years gg gaining 15 pounds in college and recently decided to ask my primary-care doctor for a referral for a sleep study.He went through a brief questionnaire with me that ruled out narcolepsy, and boom -- I was scheduled to conduct an in-home sleep study using a machine the hospital provided me. Sounded great -- if the test was positive, Id get a CPAP machine free of charge!What I didnt realize is that the 15 minute appointment to meet with a nurse, who walked me through how to use the machine, would cost exactly 500 AFTER insurance hospitalphysician services I was barely 10 into my individual annual deductible of 500, so this was going to hurt a lot.Thanks to a post from this person I decided to call my insurer to get my explanation of benefits explained EOB. Once I was satisfied that they were dotting their is and crossing their ts, I called my hospital to plead my case.1. My SO and I are not poor. We are in fact quite privileged and live a comfortable life in the greatest city in America. Thanks to good budgeting and a healthy emergency fund, yes we could afford this 500 bill, but it would not be fun. We just welcomed our firstborn child into the world a few weeks ago, and recently purchased a home to boot. 2. Our insurance is actually decent. 500 individual deductible, 1000 family deductible. 100 coverage after either threshold is met. Premiums are manageable. 3. I was stupid and assumed that just because I wasnt meeting with an M.D. in person, I wouldnt be paying more than 100 in hospitalphysician services. NOPE, a neurologist still reviews my test results! Duh!All right, so its time to call the hospital and plead my case. I dialed the number, entered my account info, and...As soon as I explained my situation to the helpful rep from my hospitals financial services department newborn baby, did not expect such a high bill for a test that I elected to take, I was immediately offered a 30 discount on my 500 bill. I didnt even have to tell them, I am only willing to pay ___. I was literally quoted an updated figure and told to pay over the phone with a credit card or checking account.I immediately paid it and thanked the rep for being so helpful. Could I have pled for a 50 discount? Maybe. But again, my SO and I have money set aside for unexpectedcareless expenditures like this. I should have known better, and I felt it was appropriate to pay at least the majority of my bill.As for whether Ill be going back for a follow-up test to get my CPAP machine...yeah, well see about that.Edit: I should have mentioned earlier, but yes this is a massive YMMV situation.  <response>: If you just had a kid vd a week or two ago I dont think you need a doctor to determine the cause of your sleep problems. 