When you walk into a hospital, the only thing we all know is that it's going to be expensive. No one, however, will know how much your expected services might cost. You are not given an estimate ahead of time. Nor would anyone truly know how to even put a cost estimate together for you. Is this really the best we can come up with? Can we truly not give cost estimates until after services are rendered? Why are systems so protective of their costs and charges?