I've been lucky to have insurance since my first job out of college. I've been lucky to have good health and have maybe visited the doctor five times in the pas

I've been lucky to have insurance since my first job out of college. I've been lucky to have good health and have maybe visited the doctor five times in the past five years. Still, even in this best-case scenario, I've had three instances where I had to fight my insurance or the care provider over whether or not they'll pay. Case 1: I didn't use my insurance provider's confusing clinic finder correctly (I entered the wrong group number) and was billed for being out of network. Case 2: The clinic didn't submit my insurance information to a lab testing vendor, and I was hit with a $900 bill for a simple blood test. Case 3: My employer accidentally canceled my insurance when I was promoted to a new role. I received a $1200 bill for doctor's visit. Point being, this is the experience in a best-case scenario. I can't see a better healthcare experience in the US that doesn't involve taking the insurance and medical billing industries out of the picture. Even if we don't go single payer for another three decades, I'd still like to see price uniformity/transparency laws enacted that ensure medical providers charge clearly advertised rates. It's absurd that I can walk into a doctor's office, and not a single person will be able to tell me what I'm about to pay up-front. It could by anything from a $30 copay, to $1000+.