The cost isn't just in dollars though. In a PET scan they inject a radioactive dye into your bloodstream. It "exposes you to around the same amount of radiation that you would receive from the general environment over about three years." [1]

The high dollar cost may also be related to newer, more sensitive machines that don't require as much radiation exposure to the patient.

[1] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtrea...

And it's not just any old radioactive source, it's a positron emission!

I believe the way it works is that the injected source emits positrons as it decays (having swiped them from the vacuum), shortly thereafter, these annihilate with the electrons of your body, and the scanner looks for the signature pair of gamma rays thus created, using the relative time of arrival to determine their common origin in 3-space. That reduces the problem of scanning to arranging for the decaying source to accumulate in the place we wish to scan which apparently can be done.

That we scan ourselves by annihilating antimatter with our bodies in targeted ways just seems so awesome to me.

OK you've sold me. Where do I sign up?

why does an IV bag cost $500?

I want professional operators and physicians to look at my details.

What I don't want is dozens of layers of middlemen or ticket clippers (or healthcare driven by profit).

> why does an IV bag cost $500?

It doesn't outside of the US.

Doesn't at Kaiser either. You just get all that stuff under a single line item "Emergency Room visit Level 2: $650". Funny how that happens when the hospital and the insurance are the same company.

Indeed. In the US, it does because manufacturers have gamed the system. Through bundled contracting with hospitals etc, for example.

Hospitals pay a couple dollars for IV saline.

In fact, manufacturers are required to report such prices annually to the federal government, which bases Medicare payments on the average national price plus 6 percent. The limit for one liter of normal saline (a little more than a quart) went to $1.07 this year from 46 cents in 2010, an increase manufacturers linked to the cost of raw materials, fuel and transportation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/health/exploring-salines-s...

(which implies that manufacturers aren't the primary beneficiaries of the price that the hospitals charge)

Thanks. It does seem that, in this case, it's hospitals that are inflating costs. But even so, this is the Medicare reimbursement price. Maybe hospitals are "paying" cash price for saline, with a rebate on some product bundle, which doesn't get allocated properly to their cost basis for saline.

It doesn't but what you are charged for a medical service/medical supply has very, very little to do with what your service/supply actually costs.

It is around $2 USD here.

"Hartmanns IV Solution AU$2.73 ex GST

Baxter 0.18% SODIUM CHLORIDE & 4% GLUCOSE IV SOLN 500ML AU$3.72 ex GST " https://www.medshop.com.au/consumables/intravenous-solutions...

Because you're buying a lot of insurance and debt.

The lack of quality health insurance means that a substantial number of people finance healthcare via bankruptcy. That's all priced in. As an insured person or private payer, you pay dramatically more as a result -- it's a hidden tax.

Apparently they cost around $300 in India.

Yes eventually