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Here, take this for-profit, inelastic demand service you need right now without seeing the prices. Trust us. You won't be bankrupt soon. Like, what are you going to do? Get up from the ER gurney and comparison shop at another hospital?

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My wife had a baby a while back. The hospital she went to did 50% of their business in delivery. Given 9 months of notice (the gestation period of humans), THOUSANDS of babies delivered every year, and professionals talking onthe phone - NO ONE could tell me how much it would cost to give birth.

It blew my mind - how can you NOT know?

6 months out, we're still getting random bills from our baby's birth. Only difference from first three is I know to expect it, so I'm numb to the insanity.

What other business in the entire world bills large, random amounts of money without explicit, informed consent?

Also, does your insurance cover these random bills or is it copay/80%?

Lol right? Although I'm guessing even for non-emergency services there's still not a ton of comparison shopping going on. People probably trust their own doctor's referrals and don't know to comparison shop - with the new rules it seems a bit easier but I'm sure hospitals don't make it all that easy.

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