I think that part of the reason the charges are high is because there are so many people who have no insurance that they don't get paid and pass the cost on to us who do pay. It is cheaper for these people to pay the penalty than to buy insurance.
An example: I was charged $750 for a nurse anesthetist by a surgery center. The insurance company paid them $180.00 which the provider accepted. I might have been able to negotiate a cheaper amount on my own but probably would not have gotten down to $180.00. I can go through bill after bill where the insurance company paid from 15% to 75% of the providers charge. While I am sure your example is right in some cases, companies like BCBS don't pay what is billed. They pay what they think the UCR is and they are the ones who set the UCR.
The reason I don't see catastrophic coming back at reasonable rates is because there are fewer people who can afford the deductibles today than there were eight years ago. (At least that is what I read)
