cost for private pay vs. insurance

I am planning to have RNY and pay for it myself.  I have the money set aside and can pay up front.  The quote I got from the program I will use was about the same as what I had heard the cost would be regardless -- approx. 25k.  This figure does not include pre-surgical tests.  The letter that came with the quote indicated the cost for private pay is about 40% reduced, but 25k does not appear to me to be a reduced price -- it seems like full price!  I am wondering if anyone else had paid for this surgery on your own, and if so what the costs were for the surgery itself, and also for the per-surgical testing.  Also any tips for negotiating with the hospital or docs to get the cost down would be helpful.

Thank you!  Deb

Your insurance might cover the pre-op testing, if you have insurance. I am guessing the answer is no if you are self paying for RNY since most insurances cover that surgery. Out of curiosity, if you are self pay...why RNY versus lapband, DS or VSG?

Based on my research to date, RNY is what I think seems to most closely meet my needs.  There is also a center fairly close that does that surgery (and the lap band) routinely and I've heard good things about the surgeon, with whom I have a consultation on Friday.  I will be self-pay because I am not willing to push insurance to pay for this due to my position in my company and the fact that we are self-insured (so my employer directly, vs. the insurance company, would be paying for this).  I am just not comfortable asking for that.  That may seem strange to most people, but it is a unique situation and I'm firmly committed to bearing the cost of the surgery on my own.