$1400 for cholecalciferate - aka Vitamin D-3 $700 for sterile water

I don't comprehend how charges like that are even remotely feasible for anything other than the deferal of liability from the hospital to the mfg., who charges a premium. But I suppose that goes under the liability insurance domain.

But that's only half of the story. Billing is a negotiation process between the practitioners or their institution and the insurance providers, so naturally the hospital is going to wring every penny out that they can which means they'll "charge" you $500 for a $10 bag of saline, and leave you at the mercy of wolves.

Just another perverted feedback loop, the insurance industry is so well established that it's become necessity, and treatment is made expensive by insurance, and will presumably continue in that direction because of its huge inertia.

Sildenafil citrate is also a treatment for other problems - see e.g. [0]. That's very different to the usual problems that are treated with the codename "viagra".

[0] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070727182359.h...

It's the same chemical regardless of brand name. GP was clearly pointing out that Sildenafil citrate bought over the counter as Viagra is extremely cheap, not that they gave a baby Viagra.

I think the point was less "haha idiot doctors gave a baby viagra" - it was originally discovered in a search for a treatment for chest pain, after all - and more "wtf viagra doesn't cost that much".

Right, but the point is the cost. Once you know what it is, you can get a mental model of what it usually costs.