Healthcare consumers often do not know the actual cost of health services. Whether it is a bed in a hospital, a prescription drug, or a procedure like an MRI, the price is usually buried beneath government regulations, insurance forms, and confusing terminology.

In this FightBack Library release, we first hear from John about how a brief hospital visit to deal with kidney stones turned into a $20,000 surprise. Fortunately, his insurance paid most of the bill, but he might have made different decisions if he had known the true cost. David Balat, a former hospital CEO and now a policy healthcare advocate focusing on healthcare costs, explains that consumers have the right to proper billing, how to understand the actual cost of healthcare, and what resources are available for shopping for healthcare.