This feels both very depressing and very helpful. I wonder if it would be possible to use things like this to call out the most egregious examples and get them adjusted through public pressure? Maybe be able to call out specific institutions in a region as being significantly worse than their competitors?
Calling hospitals in an area "competitors" almost made me vomit in my mouth... so maybe the problem is bigger than this.
As the OP noted, and as I’ve also heard from family who paid for procedures out of pocket, asking for a “cash price” gets the bill reduced significantly. It could be cut down to 1/10 of listed price.
In one case, I think it was related to getting an MRI done, the hospital out of pocket cost was comparable to the copay with insurance. That was my moment that made me want to vomit!