[jonnathanson]

"It's no coincidence that laser eye surgery, teeth whitening, cosmetic surgery is all generally affordable -- markets and competition have formed."

This isn't the best example to have chosen. All of these procedures are discretionary and nonessential. If I find the cost of an elective nose job too pricey, I can take my time and shop around. Or I can just go without a nose job altogether and be totally fine. The only thing that will suffer will be my vanity, and, well, it's suffered before. :)

On the other hand, let's imagine my kidney is catastrophically failing, and I need it removed or replaced. I'm probably not going to shop around at that point; I'm going to accept my doctor's recommendation that I be hustled into the nearest ER as soon as humanly possible, and I'll be stuck with the bill after the fact. I have neither the time, nor the expertise, nor the inclination to wait and comparison shop. For another thing, nobody is generally in a "market" for emergency kidney surgery. It's not something you anticipate. It's not something you expect to have done, much less seek out and shop around for. And there are no economic substitutes for the surgery. It doesn't lend itself to a market-based system in the same way that elective goods and services do.

[rlanday]

Most medicine doesn’t happen on an emergency basis. E.g. if you’re diagnosed with cancer, or find out you should get a heart bypass, you have time to shop around for doctors.

[Jeema101]

No you don't, because hospitals intentionally obfuscate their pricing, and in many cases it's impossible for them to even tell you what your final bill would be for a procedure.

This is the source of the problem. There is no 'market' to speak of. There needs to be laws requiring hospitals to provide prices up front and honor them after the fact.

[stickfigure]

And even in the case of emergency care, there's at least the potential that you could prepare in advance by familiarizing yourself with the market. But hospitals won't tell you what anything costs ahead of time, which is practically an invitation to gouge ("just leave your wallet and bank account passwords with the front desk...").

Even auto mechanics are required by law to give you a written estimate.