eli5: if an operational cost of an MRI scan is $50-75, why does it cost up to $3500 to a patient?

Question

Explain like I’m European.

In: Other

Answer 1

Well, there are salaries for the employees, the people that run, process, read and maintain the machine need to be paid, and they need a fairly high paycheck.
An MRI isn’t a toy, it can cost upwards of 800k€ very often, there’s also the fact that they need a whole room and there has to be enough electricity to run it.
The Mri itself is an investment, they’re looking to 1.Pay it off, 2.Use it to pay the employees and still get something left, that’s profit.
And the element X, market price, it’s theirs, if you want to use it you pay how much they ask, otherwise find competition.