A few years ago my daughter needed a last-minute CT scan, the results of which would determine whether it was safe for my wife and I to go to a conference (long story). The hospital couldn't get authorization for the CT scan from Blue Cross, due to some glitch. "No problem", they said, "we'll just do the test tomorrow." Big problem for us, though; our flight out was the next day.

I ended up negotiating a price for the CT on the spot; none existed. They simply couldn't tell me how much the test cost. I had to extravagantly over pay in order to get the test done at all.