[philwelch]

Cancer's a tough one--frankly, it's one of the reasons I pay for catastrophic insurance ($50/mo in WA).

This was for a one time surgical operation. Long term ongoing care, as you've noticed, is gonna be a lot worse. That's what insurance is supposed to be for, not small shit like doctor's appointments, or manageable shit like surgeries. (Assuming you aren't covered by your employer or the government.)

The down payments, all told, were somewhat over $1000, $1200 or $1300 as I recall, and that's for anesthesiologist + surgeon after some amount of negotiation. The hospital had an assistance program that covered their end of the costs, which would have easily matched or exceeded the surgeon's bill otherwise.