Guides

The prices on this site come straight from hospitals' federally required price files. These guides are about what to do with them — reading bills, asking the right questions, deciding how to pay. Billing navigation only; we don't do medical advice.

• When Paying Cash Beats Using Your Insurance
  Hospitals' own price files show cash facility rates sometimes beat insurer-negotiated rates — real DC-area examples with sources, plus the deductible catch that changes the math.
• How to Read a Hospital Bill (and Get One Worth Reading)
  EOB vs bill, how to request an itemized bill, what CPT and DRG codes mean, and how to check charges against the prices your hospital publishes. No medical advice.