Comment by rawgabbit

To answer your questions:

a) Your mistake is dealing with your insurance. Ask your coworkers what doctor/medical office they recommend, the doctor's office has a team dedicated to dealing with insurance. The medical office can also negotiate with your insurance before any procedures so you don't surprise billed. They call it "pre-approval" or something like that.

b) You get what you pay for. Because the system is constrained by standardized billing codes and really controlled by a handful of insurance companies and a handful of pharma middle men, they don't want to tell anyone what they are billing you and how much it will cost. Medicare and Medicaid also pay for a lot of healthcare in the US. At the end of the day, you will get what you pay for.

c) Yes.

d) There are people and organizations that are trying to make things better. As I live in Dallas, I go to UTSW which has treated me fairly. I get all my prescriptions filled at Costco which also prices medications fairly. I have also heard good things about Mark Cuban's Cost Plus online pharmacy for generic drugs.