I think price transparency is a bit of a red herring. That's not to say I don't support the idea of requiring hospitals to be upfront about costs, but it isn't going to fix issues with ER visits referenced in the Vox article. Emergency medical treatment is not really a consumer good, where if you don't like the price your can shop around or just decline to spend money. What's more, there is massive information asymmetry. If a physician diagnoses you with X and recommends treatment Y, you're not in a position to evaluate whether there's some cheaper option Z instead. Price transparency is great for elective care, but most medical treatment is not elective in nature.

* in 2021