Not all hospital visits are emergencies. I had an implanted defibrillator replaced recently. It's a life-saving device but I had a 3-month window to do it, so I most definitely picked "the other hospital" that I didn't have billing issues with the last time.

Also, a car wreck should not be a reason to nickel-and-dime someone unreasonably. And if I knew they were giving me acetominaphen for $1000 and I could wait it out for an hour I'd 100% refuse it and ask a family member to bring me some from Walgreen's for <$10. I'm not exactly swimming in money here.