The NY Times had a recent article on the cost of medical care. The price of care (especially in hospitals) can vary tremendously for the same procedure. In the case below the cost of a procedure varied by a factor of 122!!
"Hospital charges are all over the map: according to the report published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, fees for a routine appendectomy in California can range from $1,500 to — in one extreme case — $182,955. Researchers found wide variations in charges even among appendectomy patients treated at the same hospital." See: "Confusion of Hospital Pricing" by Roni Caryn Rabin
Something is definitely wrong, brah! This is one CRAZY situation!
For the original article, see:
Hsia RY, et. al. Health Care as a "Market Good"? Appendicitis as a Case Study. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Apr 23