I can&#x27;t comprehend why the author of the article couldn&#x27;t come up with this glaringly obvious reason.<p>In every other aspect of my life, the price tag is attached to the item.  If I want the item, and the listed price is good, I can either buy it then, or keep shopping.<p>With U.S. medical care, I can go to my general physician ($30 copay) and complain about a specific symptom.  She can then refer me to a specialist ($50 copay), or send me to the lab for a test ($???), or prescribe a medication ($???) and schedule a follow-up (future $30 copay).  After my pockets have been emptied, I literally have no idea about the size of the bill I will be expecting in the mail, because my insurance rejected the claim or my deductible hadn&#x27;t been met, or whatever bogus flimflam.<p>It is easier to shop around for 20 mixer-truck-loads of concrete than for one blood test.  It is easier to shop for, finance, and buy a new car than a new hip joint.  It is easier to plan a 30-destination worldwide vacation than it is to plot your own cancer treatment.<p>And as someone else already mentioned, <i>all this pricing data is already computerized</i>.  We are not allowed access to it, because it people <i>were able</i> to shop around on the basis of price, <i>they would do it</i>, and prices would immediately fall to actual cost plus reasonable operating margin.