I was in Emergency and had an MRI and CT
scan that day. Recently I had an
MRI ordered from an internists office and he wrote on the request that it was not urgent. I ended up paying for it privately, because the wait was going to be months. When I did go privately, however, it was only $800
My fatherinlaw just spent a month in hospital, a lot of it in intensive care. He had wonderful care at no cost to him at all. Our system is far from perfect, but it's there for everyone.