Woman allegedly told medical procedure would be $1,200 with insurance. Then she learns it can be $480 – if she drops her insurance

A woman who needed medical imaging was allegedly told that it would actually be cheaper to go ahead without medical insurance rather than with it. The woman’s claims have led people to call health insurance a “scam” because of the price differences.

In a viral clip that has been shared on social media, the woman claimed that she received a call to confirm her imaging appointment and was told it would cost her $1,200. The woman was allegedly told she would have to pay this even with insurance. Due to the price, the woman decided that she’d have to cancel the appointment, telling them, “That is very expensive, and I cannot afford that.”

The woman said she was then told to hold before she was put through to someone else, who answered the phone and told her, “Girl, opt out of your insurance.” When she asked what would happen if she did, the person on the other end of the phone told her it would only cost her $480.

For those who are bad at math, that is a $720 difference. Navigating the American healthcare system and insurance in general can be confusing and frustrating, but this sounds downright bonkers. The difference in price is quite shocking to hear, especially when most would assume that the insurance option would logically cost the individual less.

People call health insurance a scam

The account, “@WallStreetApes” made a response to the initial video in which they claimed that insurance is “such a scam.” They also claimed that they had seen numerous similar cases suggesting this was not a one-off.

“Cashpay is oftentimes so much cheaper than the cost of services if you have a major health insurance company,” the account said. He also claimed that the woman in the video was lucky because many places won’t even offer the cashpay option if the patient has insurance. That means that, despite paying insurance premiums, the individual could end up paying more than they would without it.

The man reviewing the video even claims that these places can lose their contracts with insurance companies if they disclose the loophole. Even worse, legal sources cited by the account state that medical staff could potentially open themselves up to legal consequences if they were to tell people.

All of this is enough to convince the man behind the WallStreetApes account that insurance companies are scamming customers and people on X agreed, sharing their own stories. One person claimed to have the same experience with an MRI where they were told it would be $1,300 with insurance and $850 without. “Imaging has a marketplace,” another commenter claimed.