Part of the reason scans cost so much is that medical imaging businesses are essentially a cartel in many states, thanks to so-called "CON" laws. In states where these laws are in effect, you can't just buy a CT scanner and set up your own medical-imaging business; you have to get a "Certificate of Need" first that certifies that there's unmet demand for imaging services in the community. To get this certificate, you have to go to a local committee, whose membership is primarily made up of the existing medical-imaging businesses. This effectively allows the existing businesses to form a cartel in restraint of trade to keep prices up, a cartel which, if it were not protected by specific state law, would almost certainly be in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

This is only one example of how the medical industry has been ripping Americans off. And, before you say anything, PPACA does nothing to bring this system under control; in fact, it perpetuates and extends it.