I once tried to find out how much some blood tests were going to cost me. This entailed a 3-hour ping-pong session between Quest Labs and my insurance company, each claiming the other would be able to tell me. Finally after reaching what sounded like some people in a basement somewhere -- who were baffled at the idea I was calling them, by the way -- I was able to get the "list price" for each individual test and add them up (came to about $1200). When I tried to find out from my insurance company how much I would actually pay, they said "well, it's got to go through claims then we'll know." I asked to speak to someone in claims -- nope. Not possible. The only way to find out what I would be paying is do go through with the tests and get the real price afterwards. Pretty insane stuff.

The most insulting part was after all this when the insurance "customer service" guy said to me, "We know what it's like to be unsure of your finances." What? I'm sure about my finances. You aren't -- you can't even tell me the price!