This is not common. Not sure why you feel so compelled to disagree with all the other posters regarding their headaches with healthcare billing/cost experiences throughout this thred. Odd.
I contacted multiple hospitals for cost estimates on a simple procedure (hours of phone calls) and only one would actually give me an "estimate." They went out of their way to explain that this was only an estimate and it could easily end up costing more than this due to a number of factors.
I really doubt any hospital will ever give you a committed price for any procedure. I would love to be proven wrong from any other posters :).
I contacted multiple hospitals for cost estimates on a simple procedure (hours of phone calls) and only one would actually give me an "estimate." They went out of their way to explain that this was only an estimate and it could easily end up costing more than this due to a number of factors.
I really doubt any hospital will ever give you a committed price for any procedure. I would love to be proven wrong from any other posters :).