But they are charging that other customer $500 for that $100 procedure. If they charged him $110, it's much more likely that he could pay. And it's not like insurance companies are easy to deal with, optimizing payouts means hospitals hire entire coding departments and they still sometimes see long delays untill payment for complicated procedures.
And unlike, say, choosing between buying a $250k Lamborghini vs a $20k Toyota, the patient has to choose the $250k bypass surgery or he'll die. Which is why this can't fairly be judged purely in business terms, customers have little choice in whether or not they purchase healthcare services.
I don't think anyone in this tree disagrees with you here - the question the parent asked was how much should they charge? If the dollar cost of the procedure is $90, and insurance companies pay $100 and pay every time, how much should someone who has a 30% chance of paying pay for the procedure?
Please stop repeating this. Insurance companies do not "pay every time". Hospitals have to employ entire departments of RNs to argue with insurance firms that this procedure was justified and that test was necessary. Cash patients don't get to make that argument!
And unlike, say, choosing between buying a $250k Lamborghini vs a $20k Toyota, the patient has to choose the $250k bypass surgery or he'll die. Which is why this can't fairly be judged purely in business terms, customers have little choice in whether or not they purchase healthcare services.