Hospital admissions are a mix of ER referals and less urgent matters. There are a lot of hospital procedures where you can shop for price, (perceived) quality,

Hospital admissions are a mix of ER referals and less urgent matters. There are a lot of hospital procedures where you can shop for price, (perceived) quality, or other factors. Otoh, it's often very hard to price shop, because it's difficult (often nearly impossible) to get an estimate for medical care when insurance may be involved. If you need your car repaired, you can get estimates and in many jurisdictions the mechanic needs consent to go beyond the estimate. If you want a cosmetic procedure that's never covered by insurance, you cam get an estimate that will be accurate unless there's complications (and if they're likely, you may get contingent estimates for likely options). If you need a covered medical procedure, good luck; chances are you won't know what it cost until 6-9 months after.