Because that $4700 isn't the cost the insurance company is paying. The real reason you can't go without insurance in the US is they're negotiating steep discounts - where I live it's supposed to average 80%.
It may well be they paid less than $600 for a procedure that lists at $4100.
And of course the government numbers don't take this into account, so what they've published is pretty much worthless.
I doubt it. That $4700 is what was listed in the insurance packet, then again in the bill along with a few other minor expenses incurred during the procedure, and finally paid for by insurance in a later notice to us. The 100% is because of ACA requirements.
I don't disagree with you that insurance companies negotiate different discounts, though, which is what I was trying to get at in my post regarding pricing.
It may well be they paid less than $600 for a procedure that lists at $4100.
And of course the government numbers don't take this into account, so what they've published is pretty much worthless.