The Cost Guides
A practical library for the uninsured, underinsured, and merely curious. Playbooks for paying less, decoders for what you're paying for, decision trees for when not to pay at all.
Hernia Surgery Cost, Line by Line
“A $17k hospital bill is really a surgeon, a facility, an anesthesiologist, and a drop cloth of fees.”
Contents
Before You Book
Should you even get the procedure?
Before You Book a Knee Replacement
80% of knee-pain cases resolve without surgery. Here’s how to know if you’re in that 80.
Chronic Back Pain: Before You Fuse
Spinal fusion resolves pain in ~50% of patients. Evidence-based alternatives resolve it in 85%.
Type 2 Diabetes Is Reversible
Half of newly-diagnosed T2D can reach remission. Here’s the 12-week protocol.
Do I Actually Need a Stent?
Stable-angina stents don’t extend life. When it’s useful, when it’s theater.
Price Decoders
What each line item actually pays for.
Hernia Surgery Cost, Line by Line
A $17k hospital bill is really a surgeon, a facility, an anesthesiologist, and a drop cloth of fees.
MRI Decoder: What Each Scan Actually Costs
Same magnet, same tech, same 45 minutes. Austin prices swing 4.6×.
Colonoscopy Cost, Unpacked
Screening is free under the ACA. So why did you get a $4,500 bill?
Having a Baby in Austin: All-In Cost
From first prenatal to the delivery bill. 14 line items demystified.
How to Pay the Least
Step-by-step playbooks from calling to paying.
The Phone Call That Saves $1,200
A 12-minute script to get cash-pay pricing that no one tells you about.
Why Ambulatory Surgery Centers Beat Hospitals
Same surgeons, half the complications, a fifth of the price. Here’s why.
Bundled Pricing, and How to Ask for It
One price for the whole procedure — surgeon, facility, anesthesia, post-op. A 3-step script.
Direct Primary Care: $79/mo, Real Math
Unlimited visits, no copays. When it saves money and when it doesn’t.
Where to Go, in Austin
Neighborhood shortlists + routing rules.
Where to Get Imaging in Austin, Cheapest First
A routed list of the 8 standalone imaging centers. Price, wait, and drive.
Austin Dental, from $0 Cleanings Up
Dental schools, cash-pay networks, and when to fly to Mexico.
Therapy in Austin: $90 to $280
Sliding scale, cash pay, grad-student clinics. A decision tree.
Insurance & Coverage
When cash beats insurance — and when it doesn’t.
Cash vs Insurance: The Decision Tree
When cash wins, when insurance wins, when to lie-flat and not bill at all.
The HSA Playbook
Triple-tax-advantaged. The loophole nobody uses.
After the Procedure
Bills, appeals, and what to double-check.
How to Appeal a Surprise Bill
Four letters. One law (No Surprises Act). Two weeks. Works ~70% of the time.
Read Your EOB in 90 Seconds
The "Explanation of Benefits" is designed to confuse. Six fields actually matter.
About this library.
Every guide is written by a practicing clinician or a billing specialist, reviewed by a second set of eyes, and revised quarterly against the actual cash-pay prices in the Austin Metro. Footnotes cite primary sources. No sponsored placements.
- Dr. Anna Shaw · Orthopedics
- Dr. Elena Ruiz · Internal Med.
- Dr. Miguel Costa · Cardiology
- Sam Patel · Billing & Policy
- · Cited from primary sources
- · Revised quarterly
- · No affiliate or referral links
- · Clinician-reviewed