But spent 5 days in the hospital.

They can do a gallbladder in a few minutes.

And for leg compressotrs. It just seems $130 for surgery in America is insanely low

it was $81,000 if you can't afford insurance and $17,000 if you can.

You have traditional Medicare?

I mean I'm thrilled if that's the cost but it just seems too low for the US

$81,000. The $17,000 is what they actually paid and my share was $1700. And I have Medicare/Premera Medicare Advantage.

It could be that your insurance is more generous when you use a surgical center rather than a hospital.

My husband had his shoulder replaced. It was $125 for everything. We were shocked. He's had it for 10 years with no problems. I had cataract surgery (outpatient) on both eyes (separately) and never paid a dime. What they told me was they can't charge more than the normal going rate and Medicare covers that. They even paid for my first pair of glasses after surgery and three check-ups with my regular eye doctor. I wish everyone had Medicare, no matter their age.

But I had to pay a $900 “facility fee”.

That was a surprise

I don't see it itemized on yhe bill, which Id like

Otherwise my gall bladder surgery was completely covered. I live in the Netherlands these days. I had to go to the hospital for a different reason yesterday and when I was sent home I strolled out the door, having signed no papers promising payment and paying nothing. It occurred to me that now I think that's normal. When I first moved here I tried to pay. They thought I was nuts.

XanaDUer, I hope you're recovering well from your surgery. I remember it took me a few weeks before I stopped having some pain and felt normal again. Take care of yourself.

Paid with credit card. Awaiting bill from anesthesia and another facility fee. Couldn't reach billing in the surgical center. The hospital had the price in the portal transpatent. This is so frustating