The Dumbest Thing I've Read This Week ...

... isn't something I read. It was something I was told. Paraphrased:

I'm calling to confirm your MRI appointment. The MRI has been approved by your insuror. Your co-pay is 5%, so your estimated co-pay is $98.77.

I don't object to paying $100 for a medically useful picture of my shoulder.

What I object to is the idea that the total cost of getting that picture taken, using 40-year-old technology, is about $2,000.

That's just stupid.

The MRI was invented in the early 1970s and in general use by the 1980s.

$2000 for an MRI is like charging me $50 an hour to use an original Mac. I ought to be able to buy the machine for that much money.