He Made $933 PROFIT Getting Surgery. Here's How.

What if getting surgery actually put money in your pocket? That sounds impossible — but it happened to a real person. And it can happen for your employees too.

The Story: $933 Profit From a Hernia Surgery

Bill Assell needed hernia repair. Instead of just scheduling the surgery and handing over his insurance card, he did something most people never think to do — he shopped around.

Bill found a provider willing to accept cash payment. He negotiated a 40% discount off the standard price. His total out-of-pocket cost came to $5,800.

Then he filed a claim with his indemnity plan. The plan paid him $6,722.

That's a $933 profit — from having surgery.

No, that's not a typo. And no, it's not a loophole.

How Indemnity Plans Actually Work

Traditional insurance pays the provider directly, based on whatever the "network rate" happens to be. You have little control and even less incentive to shop.

Indemnity plans work differently. They pay the employee a fixed cash benefit per procedure — regardless of what the employee actually paid for that procedure.

Here's why that matters: when an employee finds a lower cash price, they keep the difference.

Bill found a provider who charged less than what the indemnity plan was going to pay anyway. So the plan covered his cost — and then some.

Why Cash Prices Are Often Much Lower

Most people don't realize how much room there is to negotiate medical costs. Big insurance companies and large hospital systems have inflated the standard "list price" of medical services for decades. They use that inflated price to make their "network discounts" look impressive.

But when patients pay cash, providers often drop the price dramatically — sometimes 50% to 80% below what insurance would have "negotiated." There's no billing department, no claims processing, no delays. Providers like cash. They pass those savings on.

Bill's 40% discount is a real-world example of this in action.

The System Rewards Smart Healthcare Consumers

Indemnity plans have no deductibles and no copays. That means employees aren't penalized for using care. But they are rewarded for finding better prices.

When employees know they keep the difference, they start acting like smart consumers. They call providers. They ask for cash prices. They compare options. That behavior creates real competition — and drives costs down for everyone over time.

This isn't a workaround. It's the entire point of the design.

How Small Businesses Set This Up

At The Benefit X-Change, we help small businesses offer this kind of benefit every day. Through an ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement), employers set a defined contribution amount. Employees use that allowance to purchase their own individual health insurance.

Employees who opt out of the ICHRA can choose the employer-sponsored indemnity plan instead. If the indemnity premium is less than the employer's defined contribution, the employee pays nothing out of pocket. If it's more, the difference is simply deducted from their paycheck.

It's flexible, affordable, and built to give employees real financial incentive to be smart about their healthcare.

Ready to Offer Benefits That Actually Work?

Bill's story isn't a fluke. It's what happens when employees have the right plan and the right incentive. If you want to build a benefits package that saves your business money and puts money back in your employees' pockets, we can help.

Visit benefitx.com to learn more and get started today.