“ The fact that the hospital doesn't know what a procedure costs (they make it up based on deals with medicare, medicaid, and individual insurance companies) should give you a hint.”

The hint here is that the random pricing needs to stop. Same procedure for the same price. No market can work if participants don’t know the actual price. Insurance and hospitals probably have a very good idea but patients are being kept totally in the dark. You are expected to just accept what this opaque machinery comes up with.