When healthcare is expensive, the Amish culture of autonomy and thrift may be a way to balance communal support and individual responsibility. Amish communities often negotiate discounts, which hospitals are willing to offer in exchange for payment in full at the time of service. For Americans with health insurance, it may come as a surprise that hospital costs are negotiable. Indeed, pricing is so murky that most of us don’t know the actual cost of our care. Prompt-pay discounts are rarely advertised, but according to the Amish, they’re quite common. One rural Kentucky hospital offers a 25 per cent discount. In Holmes County, Ohio, Pomerene Hospital offers package deals for self-pay patients. Anyone, Amish or not, can contact the hospital’s Amish advocate for details.
What the Amish can teach the rest of us about modern medicine
