<prompt> Human: Hello everyone! I am using a throwaway to protect my identity. I recently had appendicitis and I had to have an appendectomy. I did not know about the famous redditor who had an appendectomy at a sutter health hospital and was charged 50k like me. So I couldnt really make any decisions to use a different network.I was in a lot of pain, and I called the nurse hotline on the back of my insurance card I have Anthem Blue Cross PPO. She advised me to go to the ER for possible appendicitis. I asked her to provide me a list of in-network ERs that I could go to, and she recommended Hospital X part of sutter health, which is the one I went to.I had a wonderful experience as a paitent. The hospital was nice, the staff was extremely friendly and caring. I cant complain about the service I received. I expected to have to pay a portion of the cost, but I didnt think it would ever exceed 1000 dollars, in fact I assumed it would be my deductable I had about 400 left, and that would be it. Fast forward to now, and I find out that I was billed 50K for the whole procedure, and now owe my 415 deductible, plus my 3000 out of pocket max. I called the billing office to see if they could give any discounts for paying in full, etc. They only offer a 5 discount for insured cash-paying customers who pay in full within 30 days. Thats only 170 off. Not much help. The other option is a 12 month pay plan, with no interest, directly through the hospital. Another option is a 24 month pay plan through a collections agency may have interest. My financial situation:I have an E-fund, which I can use to pay this. However, I am expecting my first kid in a month, and I have been struggling to get my e-fund large enough to cover the additional risk a newborn will add. So paying in full will set back my e-fund. I feel like because my wife and I make good money, they just expect us to pay the full balance. They offer huge discounts to other people who are uninsured, make less money etc. But because I am a responsible adult with my life in order, I get to pay the full amount. What a great reward. rant. 1. Do I just have to suck it up and pay because I was covered fully 80 covered, 20 mine up to out of pocket max?2. Do all of the payment reduction options involve me divulging that I have the cash on hand to pay this in full it seems like this is true from the research I have done? The forms for payment reductionfinancial assistance all ask for household income and all that. Am I wrong for feeling like I shouldnt have to pay so much for something that I had no control over? Sure if I am being reckless and break my arm, I expect to have to own up to the consequences financially. I have no control over my appendix though, so I just got unlucky?Please lets avoid the this is why healthcare in America sucks, in my country X we do it better. I obviously cant change the healthcare system in America. TL;DR I got charged 50K for appendectomy, was fully covered by 8020 insurance, and now owe about 3500. Is paying in full the only option if I have the money?EDIT based on responses:1. Do I just have to suck it up and payYes, I do. This is something I should have been prepared i.e. accounted for my OOP max in my E-fund for if I had understood my health coverage correctly.Am I wrong for feeling like I shouldnt have to pay so much for something that I had no control over?According to responses, yes! I am wrong in this thinking. Assistant: Why does this seem outrageous to you? Honestly, seems fairly reasonable.Human: I dont know. To be honest, I just assumed my health insurance would cover something like appendectomy in full because it was an emergency and something out of my control. I can understand them asking me to pay for a forgive the repeated example broken arm that was my fault. Some how I feel cheated. Do you think that the insurance company should not take into account whether I could control the circumstances? I suppose if that is the prevailing opinion, then I just had the wrong understanding of health insurance.  <response>: Youre paying just 7 of the total cost of the operation. Thats the purpose of health insurance. I promise you werent thinking Im not reckless, Ill be covered 100! when you signed up for your health plan. You were thinking this is good to have because I dont want to pay 100 of costs if I have a medical emergency. And thats what happened. You had a medical emergency and 90 is covered by your insurer. 