<prompt> Human: Hi personalfinanceThe night of December 23rd I went to the ER because I was really sick. My insurance for my job didnt begin until Jan. 1st so I am looking at a 4,595 3216.50 after their generous self pay discount... for 2 hours in the ER.The bill:2,042 for the two hour visit1,097 for sticking an IV needle in my arm426 for two bags of IV saline1,092 for a Lactate-POCT lab test apparently thats a blood oxygen test from what I googledI looked on healthcarebluebook.com and a minor hospital ER visit fair price should be 783 in this areaIV hydration fair price is 126And a Blood Gases Any Combination with O2 Saturation fair price is 64 Im not sure if this is the right thing...This whole bill seems like highway robbery to me, just absurd. I dont even have the 3,216 that they are asking for and I dont make a lot of money. Any helpadvice on how to negotiate down this bill and get a payment plan would be wonderful and appreciated. Thank you so much everyone.  <response>: Sadly, this bill sounds about right. That is why its suggested you go to urgent care for things like this not the ER. The ER is always going to charge you more.Definitely contact them for a payment plan. At least in my experience, most hospitals have some sort of an interest free payment plan. That will be better than it going to collections.YMMV 