But yeah, I assume it's a combination of: * Most people pay through their insurance, so they don't have to pay the sticker price or anything resembling it * Some people going on payment plans and getting stuck in debt basically forever * Some people bargaining their bill down, paying pennies on the dollar * Some people going into collection, paying pennies on the dollar

Of course, it's absurd that all 3 out of 4 paths require you to take extra, often really painful steps (collection + bankruptcy, maintaining insurance, or long drawn-out negotiation) just to pay a reasonable price for something that is 100% non-optional and most countries provide for much-closer-to-free. But that's kinda what happens when the system is broken

Depends how you measure, but I feel pretty confident saying that most US hospital bills have never been fully paid off.

That is what we continue to be told, yes.

So my 15 minutes $600 allergy appointment that insurance refused to cover (after covering the same damn appointments for 12 years) is that high because of others, or so I keep hearing...