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?

I can't imagine why a physician would ask for cash if they work for a hospital. Can you give them a cashiers check? That might be a better option.

I have to say that does sound a bit odd. I was self-pay as well and my Dr. took my debit card and also offered to take cashier's checks. There could be a legitimate reason, but I'm with you... I'd hate to be carrying around that amount of cash for any amount of time!

That is shady. As someone who has worked in healthcare, when a doctor wants cash and literally green money is all he is taking, that is not a reputable surgeon.

I can understand why they don't like credit because they get billed a percentage of the fee to use your card, which my thing is that's the cost of doing business, but to an extent I can see a preference for a cashier's check. Also, you can dispute the charge on a credit card and it's not like they can put your stomach back together if you refuse to pay the fee. Past that though, a doctor who wants cash and won't take a check from your bank is not someone you should trust to chop out your stomach. I was self pay and my surgery was 18K in the United States...so 10K here, with a decent hospital, follow-up care, and the correct anesthesia and equipment also seems to be a stretch.

Much as we all make our own decisions, I wasn't willing to go for a discount on something as serious as surgery and any doctor who insists on cash is a super, super bad route to go down when it comes to literally trusting him with your life and the future quality of your life.

@@letsgo2thebeach, are you in California or Canada? BP seems to have just one abbrev to cover both, as far as I can tell, anyway.

What you're describing sounds a little too back-alley for comfort. I agree with @@AvaFern regarding the ethics.

I was self-pay and I paid with my credit card and my doctor was willing to take cash, debit, check, cashier's check, money order, etc. It does seem strange. You may need to do some more research or he may have been burned in the past (ijs).

Not good.

Sketchy....

I was self pay in Mexico and even my surgeon accepted a cashiers check or PayPal. He even accepted my credit card for my postop meds.

If you are concerned about a sketchy payment I am willing to bet you'll be even sketchy about being operated on by him

Have you gone online and "googled" him??? You should be able to find any charges against him as well as any malpractice claim.

Tread lightly. Listen to the little voice that has you coming to BP with your concern.

"If you smell a skunk, you don't need to see him to know that he is nearby".

Good luck and keep us posted.

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.