be as high as they are, if they weren't driven up by the insurance companies (and medical community) hiding costs from the recipient.

This is the reason cash-only clinics are getting more popular. Docs are sick of the system, so they charge a single fee for procedures, posted online, that are a fraction of the cost, because it's what the procedure is actually worth. There's no $400 charge for the asprin that the patient never sees.
Small businesses would much prefer to pay for an employee's vericise vein surgery, for example, when they know the cost up front, than get abused by their insurance company.

The medical services people receive are being billed at 10 to 100 times what they're "worth" - or what a cash-clinic would charge for them.