From a customer standpoint, does it make any financial difference to go to a non-profit hospital or a for-profit hospital?

Question

From a customer standpoint in the US, does it make any financial difference to go to a non-profit hospital or a for-profit hospital?

Answer 1

I wonder the following: from a customer standpoint, does it make any financial difference to go to a non-profit hospital or a for-profit hospital?

The number one concern is "is the hospital in-network or out-of-network?"

In-network means that the rates you will be charged will be at the negotiated rates. It also means that anything you have to pay applies to your in-network deductible. The hospital will also bill your insurance company.

If the hospital is out-of-network you will generally pay higher rates. The money you pay will be applied against the generally higher and separate out-of-network deductible. Also they will only credit the amount of the negotiated rate, everything above that is not the insurance companies concern. The hospital won't file the claim for you. In a typical hospital stay there are multiple bills: from the ER, from the surgeon, from the anesthesiologist, from the lab, from the pharmacy...

If you go in-network, the profit status of the hospital makes no difference. All the rates will be the same.