Healthcare is one of the heaviest regulated industries in the US

Okay, now compare to europe.

Hospitals or healthcare insurance is so regulated?

you could go to a store, see a menu board and order an MRI with upfront pricing

Can you explain this? From what I understood, there is no upfront pricing because insurance companies are slow to provide a price. If there is no insurance company involved, then hospitals would be able to tell you the price.

speaking of mri's : https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/196pfb4/eli5_if_an_operational_cost_of_an_mri_scan_is/

articles and discussion about comparison to other countries:

https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1acp24/why_an_mri_costs_1080_in_america_and_280_in_france/
"If the US Government was serious about lowering the costs of imaging on Medicare, Medicaid, and the health sector in general, they would out right outlaw Physician ownership, investment in imaging centers. It is proven over, over, and over again(http://www.jacr.org/article/S1546-1440(09)00346-9/abstract) that when docs own an imaging center utilization rates go up. However, the AMA is too large of a lobbying force. Instead, of addressing the root of the problem, the Government has taken the tact of lowering pay outs for the scans done. this has done nothing to curb the utilization rates. It has gotten so bad for IDTF centers, that they are closing, and the imaging is being hustled back into Hospitals, where the HOPPS rates are much higher, and usually more extensive(their claims that they treat the poor that don't pay(when in fact it makes up only 1%)."

https://old.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/18tz4h/why_does_an_mri_that_costs_99_to_160_in_japan/
"..hospitals and radiology clinics bill based on their assumed reimbursement rate. See, they know that the insurance company will only reimburse them for a small percentage of their aggregate billing (10%-50%) depending on the insurance company. So they inflate all their prices in order to maximize the payout."

Ah the classic "this wont work, you see bc USA has shown that and free market always wins"

Meanwhile the rest of the world have several different but similar blueprints showing how it works much much better. But americans must always go a different route and ignore as if nothing else exists.