Don, I once had a boss (who had excellent health insurance, BTW) who demanded an itemized bill for each period of care. She found, for example, that she had been billed for such things as $12.50 per day for the tissues next to her bed. The insurance paid, no questions asked, whatever their "reasonable and customary" negotiated rate was.

I don't personally believe that those who are uninsured pay for the care of those who are, but that's certainly where much of the profit margin comes from. If I were advising someone who was uninsured, I'd say to get that itemized bill first and then sit down with the billing office to discuss a reduction.