$26.

[haele]

15. I remember when I was a kid and broke my arm.

My parents were working poor students with basic student insurance and had to come up with $75 to get it treated in 1970. I think the hospitalization, and anesthesia/medication was "free" (it was the Children's hospital, a teaching hospital with the University of Washington at the time, and Mom worked there while Dad was a student), just paid for the doctor, anesthesiologist and nurses. They were able to put $25 down for the sedation and setting the arm; and $25 a month after when we went to see the doctor for follow ups.
I looked it up. That's around $610 give or take in today's money.
Now-a-days, it's pretty much out of control.

If one of my granddaughters broke an arm like I did today with my "Cadillac" government insurance, it would cost out pocket around $800 - $1500 (if the anesthesiologist was in network or not), and I doubt they'd keep her in the hospital overnight until they were sure the sedation wore off.
On my insurance, an ER visit deductible is $150 right off the bat, before treatment or triage. Hospitalization is $300. And if you're conscious, most hospitals require you to pay your co-pay or set up an auto pay date when they're ready to release you.
The only benefit we really have is when we use a hospital chain Urgent Care first ($20 co-pay) and they send you to the ER, the co-pay at the lower level treatment facility pays for all subsequent facilities.
As for calling an ambulance, that's an outrageous cost; the city's paramedic ambulance service (owned by an out of state "medical services" capital group) refused to set up in network accounts with any insurance not specific to their corporate home state. So any "X Insurance of California" is not "In Network", as California has certain requirements as to level of care that aren't in their state, and they just don't want to be forced to provide them.
Two years ago, they charged us $1200 just to come and triage. Then $50 "per mile", plus supplies, because they're claiming they're "out of network", even though my insurance company EOB indicated we only had to pay $56. And they've got a contract for millions a year with the city to operate...I wouldn't be surprised to hear they practice Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud for their elderly or indigent patients.

Haele