Thanks everyone for your thoughts, and for validating my reaction! This is a surgeon many on this website/app have used. He's been featured in magazines and news shows, and his practice is a center of excellence. That's why this is so bizarre to me. Paying with cash will save me $600, but I think I'll pay by card anyway simply because cash seems so shady.
Opinions please. I'm a self-pay patient in the US. Reputable surgeon wants actual cash money (not credit, debit, or cashier's check) for the surgery. Is this normal? It seems shady and I can't understand why they need bills instead of a cashier's check. I'm not comfortable carrying $10K around in cash! Anyone else encounter this?