The Market Forces Quietly Adding Thousands to Patient Bills By Elisabeth Rosenthal Sept. 8, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/vertical-integration-high-health-costs-prices-hospital-mergers-pharmacies-pbms/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--sZ6tUbJlzDPKPM3XahLR472WEu8DIp5vtci_GNDcRvulhHYWle07dwoDtm2Fo7Az_SzZKiDyudYoFr_zl479-hxzOIQ&_hsmi=437918065&utm_content=437918065&utm_source=hs_email KFF Health News: The Market Forces Quietly Adding Thousands To Patient Bills After a failed round of in vitro fertilization this year, Anne Hug’s fertility doctor said she had a single polyp in her uterus that should be removed to improve the chance of pregnancy. Hug, a professor of radiology, learned that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the procedure can be done in a doctor’s office with local numbing. Her doctor referred her to a physician at the same hospital, which is part of a large Ohio health system. That doctor’s plan was to do the procedure in a hospital operating room, with anesthesia administered by an anesthesiologist. Hug balked at the $18,000 estimate. (Rosenthal, 9/8)