Last year, my daughter caught a stomach bug and for a few days woke up each morning nauseous. We took her to her pediatrician and were surprised to find out that "waking up nauseous" is a Big Deal; it can be a neurological symptom. We were pretty sure that wasn't it (there were... other symptoms... corroborating our "stomach bug" hypothesis) but the doctor was adamant: if she kept waking up and puking, she'd need to get imaged.

She got better and we cleared her to go on vacation with her grandparents, and were just about to get on a plane to go give a talk at Black Hat, when we got a call from our parents in Michigan telling us she was puking again. We called the doctor, who demanded we retrieve her and scheduled a CAT scan.

We are at this point freaked out for a variety of reasons, some of them logistical (trip to conference, driving back/forth to Michigan, &c) but also from the fact that our doctor knew what an epic inconvenience all was and was absolutely clear "daughter needs CAT scan" --- so in the back of our heads there's gnawing "something could really be wrong" (Adia had seizures when she was 4, which, by the way, GUESS WHAT DING DING DING UNINSURABLE ON PRIVATE MARKET NOW, and now 7 years later I still can't even hear she has a headache without taking an inventory of all other possible symptoms.)

So anyways, we want that CAT scan done now now now yesterday now. We get to the hospital for our appointment and: problem with our insurance card. No big deal, we'll just resched--- fuck that, I'm paying cash.

Head scratching ensues, long story short, very large hospital in Chicago doesn't have any price list for a CAT scan at all. Not even an insurance cost to pass on to me, let alone a cash-basis discounted price. Getting imaging done at a top hospital in Chicago without insurance: unheard of. They ended up just making up a price on the spot; $1000.