[randomtwiddler]

I'm, unfortunately, familiar with hospitals. It's not as bad as you claim here, that anecdote seems wildly wrong.

What does happen is the hospital bills you $50 for what amounts to a bottle of Tylenol. The insurance provider says no, we only pay $8 for Tylenol, and the hospital relents and charges $8.

If you don't have insurance to call them on their inflated pricing you end up with the rather obscene bill. As an individual you have precious little pull other than, will you discount if I pay it all now? Which they usually will. This depends on having that ability, and 30% off doesn't make up for a 400%+ markup.

But hospitals have to pull a profit despite dealing with tons of regulations and non-paying patients they have to treat anyway. So as a result they bleed who they can, it's a mess.