@survivor5280 Yes, that makes sense. With my spinal lesion, I was on the operating table for at least 10 hours (two shifts of anaesthesiologists), in the ICU for one night, in a critical-care bed for two months, and in the rehab centre for another month and a half. I was seeing specialists almost daily, getting radiation and frequent imaging, and needed full personal care (I was paraplegic), including being mechanically hoisted out of bed during the first month. All my meals and prescription meds were provided by the hospital.

There's no way to know, since no invoice was ever written, but I expect I must have cost the Ontario healthcare system at least several hundred thousand dollars over those 3½ months. In the U.S., perhaps it would have been millions, at least on paper (I note the point about inflated billings and "discounts").

p.s. In my case, at least, no waiting and no rationing. I got all the care I needed as soon as it was ordered. Even my emergency spinal surgery happened less than 12 hours after it became clear what was wrong.

@survivor5280 In dentistry there is the ‘usual and customary fee’ ie - what you would normally charge; then that number is chopped down to the ‘negotiated fee’ - the fee you’ve agreed to accept in order to be a provider…and finally the fee they actually pay you after downcoding your procedure code…which can be up to 50% LESS!
This last part of the ‘administrative process’ implies that you’ve lied, committed fraud or misrepresented what procedure you actually did. They invite you to write a narrative defending your position, but all you get back from them after resubmitting a claim with Xrays is one definitive word: REJECTED…
It was this constant war of defending my actions and being constantly whittled down financially that made me decide to retire…
Phil