Just like the problems with pay transparency / publishing in job listings, what good is the publishing of hospital costs, if they inflate the rack rate prices to handle people who walk in without insurance, but discount everyone else to the Medicare rates? It doesn't give you any real comparable reference point between hospitals, does it?

As an example, you get a bill for $100k for a one-night hospital visit for an emergency, but it gets knocked down to $15,000 at Medicare reimbursement rates, and then you only pay $1,000. Which price should be shown? It is any use to show the $100k figure?

Or am I missing something that has changed? I mean, I'm all for these efforts but if there is no consistency / meaning behind the numbers being used, it's no good.