On February 20, 2013, Time published a cover story by Steven Brill, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.” Brill read hospital bills line by line. One patient was charged $1.50 for a single 325-milligram Tylenol tablet. Brill noted that a hundred cost about $1.49 online. An alcohol pad was billed at $7.
The prices came from the hospital’s chargemaster, “a list – six-, seven-, 10,000 items long of everything the hospital provides.” Brill found that the uninsured were the only patients asked to pay those prices.