Most people dread surgery not just because of the procedure — but because of everything that comes after: the confusing bills, the insurance battles, the waiting. Smith Medical was built to change that.
When most people think about scheduling surgery, cost clarity is rarely part of the picture. They contact their insurance company, wait for prior authorizations, get referred to an in-network surgeon, and then — weeks or months later — receive a series of separate bills from the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the facility, and the lab. Each one arrives as a surprise. The total is rarely what anyone expected.
Smith Medical was built as a direct response to that experience. We operate as a direct-pay specialty surgical center, which means we’ve removed the insurance billing layer entirely — and replaced it with one transparent, all-inclusive price, published upfront before you ever schedule a procedure.
The Core Difference
Traditional billing is designed for systems. Ours is designed for people.
Traditional surgical billing is fragmented by design. When you have surgery at a hospital or conventional surgical center, the facility, surgeon, and anesthesiologist each contract separately with your insurance company — and each bill separately. The price is often unknown until insurance processes the claim. Even insured patients frequently face unexpected out-of-pocket costs that can take months to appear.
At Smith Medical, there is one price. It covers the surgeon, anesthesia, the facility, standard surgical supplies, and routine perioperative services. You see it before you make any decisions. There’s nothing to decode afterward.
| TRADITIONAL SURGERY CENTERS | THE SMITH WAY |
| ✕ Separate bills from surgeon, anesthesiologist, and facility
✕ Prior authorization required — often taking weeks or months ✕ Coverage denials and appeals can delay care indefinitely ✕ Surprise charges arrive weeks or months after surgery ✕ Total cost often unknown until after the procedure ✕ Administrative burden falls on the patient to navigate |
✓ One all-inclusive bundled price — surgeon, anesthesia, and facility
✓ No insurance approval required — ever ✓ Faster scheduling — no bureaucratic bottlenecks ✓ Price is confirmed before you book your procedure ✓ No surprise bills after surgery ✓ Clear answers from our team from consultation through recovery |
The Numbers
40–60% less than traditional hospital billing
Transparent pricing doesn’t mean discounted quality. It means removing the cost of insurance bureaucracy — the administrative overhead that inflates every bill in the traditional system — and passing those savings directly to the patient.
| 40–60%
Less than typical hospital billing, even for insured patients applying costs toward deductibles |
1
Single consolidated bill — no separate invoices from multiple providers |
0
Prior authorizations required — none, ever |
For patients with high-deductible insurance plans, this comparison is especially striking. If your deductible is $5,000 and a traditional hospital bills your insurer $18,000 for a procedure, you may still owe thousands — and that’s after months of waiting for approval. In many of those scenarios, our bundled price is lower than what you’d pay out-of-pocket under insurance anyway.
“We believe surgical care should be financially predictable — not stressful. You should know the cost before you walk in the door, not weeks after you walk out.”
Who We’re Built For
A smarter option whether you’re insured or not
Smith Medical was designed for a growing number of people who find themselves caught between the traditional system and real affordability. That includes patients without insurance, those with high-deductible plans where most costs fall out-of-pocket, and individuals who’ve simply had enough of the runaround and want to move forward quickly with care they can actually afford.
It’s also an increasingly compelling option for employers. Self-funded companies and benefit advisors are turning to Smith Medical’s direct-pay model to reduce large-claim risk, give employees faster access to care, and bring genuine predictability to specialty surgical spending — something traditional insurance billing rarely provides.
- Patients who are uninsured or underinsured
- High-deductible health plan members facing large out-of-pocket costs
- Anyone frustrated by insurance delays who needs care sooner
- Self-funded employers managing specialty care costs
- Benefit advisors building cost-effective plans for clients
Our Surgeons
Board-certified physicians who chose this model — because they wanted to focus on medicine
Here’s something worth understanding about traditional hospital surgery: the same bureaucracy that frustrates patients also frustrates surgeons. Prior authorizations, insurance negotiations, and claim denials consume hours of physician time every week — time that could be spent on patient care.
The surgeons affiliated with Smith Medical chose the direct-pay model deliberately. Without insurance paperwork standing between them and their patients, they can schedule more efficiently, spend more time in consultation, and focus entirely on clinical outcomes. Better experience for the surgeon translates directly into a better experience for the patient.
How It Works
Five steps to surgery — without the runaround
| 01
Browse procedure pricing online |
02
Submit a consultation request |
03
Receive your bundled quote |
04
Schedule your procedure quickly |
05
Recover with no surprise bills |
Built on a Proven Idea
Transparent surgical pricing isn’t a workaround. It’s a better model.
Smith Medical was inspired by Dr. Keith Smith and the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which pioneered the practice of publishing all-inclusive surgical prices online — and demonstrated that the model works. Patients get better value. Surgeons practice more efficiently. Outcomes don’t suffer; in many cases, they improve because the patient-surgeon relationship isn’t mediated through layers of administrative complexity.
Transparent pricing isn’t a discount strategy. It’s what surgery pricing should look like when the system is designed around patients rather than payers.
We’re located in Littleton, Colorado, serving patients throughout the Denver metro area — Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Centennial, Englewood, and beyond. If you’re ready to know your cost before you commit, we’re ready to show you.
Know Your Cost Before You Schedule
Browse our procedure pricing, or contact our team to get a clear, all-inclusive quote for your surgery — no insurance required, no surprises after.
→ See Surgery Pricing: smithdirectcare.com/procedures
→ Schedule a Consultation: smithdirectcare.com/contact-us
