>>>>>So it has nothing to do with the fact that hospitals charge more for an overnight stay than the Ritz in Paris?
>>>>
>>>>ROFL. The Ritz is overrated.
>>>
>>>Funny thing is does anyone out here understand how hospitals in the USA come up with their prices???? Might want to look into that folks )
>>
>>A mix of looking at how you're dressed, what's your car (there's a camera on the parking, right), and how desperate and stupid you may look, multiply all that and then by a fudge factor.
>>
>>I've read an investigative article from a couple of guys who were calling hospitals around asking how much would a certain thing cost (they described the same symptoms, something about a knee that would require some surgery and a 2-3 day stay). There was no variance in the prices they got, all values were .null. - i.e. they got no answers. They won't tell you the price until you show up and sign some papers. Pricelist? Well, did you ever see one that you could reference and complain about the bill?
>
>Methinks the experiment is somewhere between biased and flawed: you'd get similar answers by phoning in to automehanic garages and plumber shops. Quoting a price without having diagnosed yourself can backfire nowadays (not saying ballooning attempts willnot happen)

I was imprecise about the details because I don't remember them. But they had a couple of doctors who gave them a list of symptoms and buzzwords, telling them exactly what to say, because it was a diagnosis requiring one of the standard and common procedures that any clinic knows and does. So they were asking the prace of a standard light surgery, pretty much like you describing trouble when starting a car and the battery terminals look dirty - anyone would say "charge the battery and clean the terminals or put new ones" - and would know the cost to you. Except there's no standard among clinics in the US.