Not everyone has that kind of insurance.

You also have no idea of the cost of various diagnostic actions they might take. I once had blood drawn and got charged $600 for it because the lab they chose was out of network. I didn't even know there was a cost, let alone which labs to request.

$150 to have a nurse put a popsicle stick on my tongue and tell me that my throat infection would probably go away on its own.

> $150 to have a nurse put a popsicle stick on my tongue and tell me that my throat infection would probably go away on its own.

Or you could see it this way :

$150 to have a nurse put a popsicle stick on your tongue and tell you that you are very lucky to have presented today because you have a suspicious growth - which on examination turns out to be a rare form of cancer that is easily cured if detected early, but most certainly fatal otherwise

Depends on whether you count opportunity costs under 'inconvenient' or 'expensive', I guess. If you have to take time off work to travel to a doctor, wait for an appointment, etc, that's all costs.

>it can't be more than $10 or so for a quick consultation

It's times like this I realize just how different the rest of the world is.

Dunno about the US, but in Ireland it is EUR60 for a 10-minute GP visit.