Thank you for pointing this out. I really hate articles that treat the rack rates presented to uninsured consumers as a fixed bill; it's not. I think this is something where articles could do a better job of explaining to readers how the rates are really an opening to negotiation (the negotiations already done by insurers).
I do agree; it's taken me years to overcome my aversion to negotiation. It wasn't until I saved a million dollars on a contract just by asking(!) that I appreciated the process and how many transactions can be negotiated.
