A blood test is charged about 5 times what it cost the hospital.

A blood test is charged about 5 times what it cost the hospital.

A blood draw is the most ordinary thing a hospital does. A vial, a label, a machine that has run the same test a million times.

Across 6,547 hospitals, the middle lab charges 5 times what it told Medicare the work cost. The markup is not hiding in the big surgery. It is on the small line you skim past. At some hospitals the lab charges under 2 times cost. At others, more than 15.

Be fair about what this is. It is the price on the bill, not profit. If you have insurance, your plan pays a lower rate it worked out. If you do not, the five-times number is what you owe.

The cheapest thing on your bill is priced the same way as the most expensive. By the price list, not by the cost.