Has anyone paid out of pocket for medical care that was actually cheaper without insurance?

[MineralMan]

14. Sure. That's possible in some cases, if you don't have anything serious

wrong with you. America's Best will give you a free eye exam and two pairs of glasses for $69.95. The frames aren't that cool, but if you kick it up to $99, they're not bad and you still get the free eye exam. I got my driving glasses from them, and they're fine. I wear over the counter readers for reading, though.

However, all it takes is a broken arm or leg or a bout of appendicitis to make going without health insurance a huge mistake. Or get a bad case of the flu and end up in the hospital

When you're young, you can get away without insurance if you're lucky, but that can go wrong in an instant. It's amazing how fast you can run up a $100K hospital bill. Shockingly fast.

So, you can take your chances and hope you're lucky. Drive carefully, though, and look both ways before crossing. Stay away from sick people, if you can tell who they are.