"Do you have any idea how much your hospital laboratory charges for an outpatient urinalysis? I didn't until recently, when my daughter showed me a copy of the bill my hospital was sending to her insurer. The charge for urinalysis, culture, and sensitivities was $491. When I ordered a follow-up a week later, it was $273. How could that be? This inquiry about one urine test is symbolic. There are 20,000 items in the hospital's Chargemaster computer billing program. This massive list comprises the healthcare problem in America. In light of this, I decided to spend time as an amateur economist. The first question I asked: Where is the hospital lee schedule published? Not on the hospital website."
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|volume=83|issue=6|page=39|title=Who cares about overcharging? How one urinalysis reflects the state of U.S. health care }}
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chargemaster
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Chargemaster
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