Guidance for the Health Care Perplexed

We all know what a huge rip off our health care system is.  But aside from just the extortion level pricing, the system is rigged so well it is nearly impossible for even a prudent and well informed consumer to navigate and avoid nasty billing surprises.  Just a few examples: You make an effort to go to an in-network hospital and receive one or more out-of-network bills from doctors or other hospital staff, often for astronomical sums of money, and were given no warning of such.  You receive over a dozen different bills from one hospital stay in our fragmented system, and they keep you in limbo for months, sometimes even a year or longer, after your procedure/discharge, not knowing if you will receive another unexpected bill.  It is rare that any medical provider will disclose prices for a procedure, etc. beforehand, and often will not make clear whether or not it is covered by insurance.   Come to our gathering, vent your frustrations, and tell your horror stories, or those of a family member or friend, in dealing with the shenanigans of our health care system, and then lets discuss how we can fight back.