re: Everyone should request an itemized hospital bill, it is really interesting

The more gov gets involved the worse it will be. Hospitals are trying to make money just like every other business. Yes, your so called "not for profits" make more profit than the "for profits." And they can afford to waste huge amounts of money because they don't have to pay property taxes. What you have to look at is the bottom line. How much did this hospital make in profit last year? I'll bet its not much at all. Why? Because medicare, medicaid, and insurance have pre-determined rates, which are substantially less than what they charge. So, they charge ten dollars for an aspirin. They could charge .05 for it, but the 9.95 difference would have to be switched to another charge to make up for it.