That is not an apples to apples comparison. A gentleman's agreement not to poach engineers with valuable skills is very different from companies charging peopl

That is not an apples to apples comparison. A gentleman's agreement not to poach engineers with valuable skills is very different from companies charging people with services who are not able to say "no". There is a massive information asymmetry between health care providers and consumers. Doctors take decades of training. Hell, medical billing by itself is a degree. Consumers will never be prepared to properly assess costs. Even if they could, it doesn't matter when you are hurt and can't refuse. It's more like food sales at a hockey game. Anyone in the arena that wants to eat or drink has to buy what is being sold. As such, prices are hugely inflated, even though the nearby gas station is much cheaper.