[roc]

The sad part is that they usually truly don't.

Because not only do hospitals have largely-fictional rates they try to pass to insurers, there are also the medicare rates, the medicaid rates, the rates they pass to those trying to pay out-of-pocket, the rates for the generic equivalent they'll switch to after you agree to a drug/procedure due to your coverage, the discounted rates they pass to people who will almost certainly let the bill go to collections if it isn't heavily discounted, etc.