Here in Canada, there is no price transparency whatsoever. Just when people are facing the stress and uncertainty of fighting a crisis like Cancer, they are given absolutely no inkling what their treatment will cost.

When a physician makes an appointment for you with a plastic surgeon to discuss reconstructive surgery... No transparency about the cost.

When they prescribe chemotherapy... No transparency about what the doses cost.*

When they schedule surgery... You don't have any idea if they'll pull in another nurse or surgeon during the procedure, and again... No transparency about cost.

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I feel icky making jokes about this. But seriously, price transparency is a perfect example of the "XY Problem."

America asks, "How do we make paying for health care an efficient and transparent marketplace," but the correct answer is, "If what you want is a functioning, civilized country, stop trying to make healthcare a marketplace."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem

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* Prescription drugs are still a quagmire in Canada. Basic chemotherapy is somewhat covered by various provincial drug plans, but if you're employed you usually rely on your employment benefits for prescription drugs much as Americans do.

Many of the things covered by employment plans are more convenient than those covered by the public plans. For example, the public plan may require a dose a day, while the product that only requires a dose a week is only covered by an employment plan.

But the bottom line is that if you aren't employed and can't afford chemotherapy, you will get treated.