Yes, another in universe explanation, that I already commented somewhere else, is that the hospital is geared towards excellence. There’s an episode where Cuddy negotiates with an insurance provider for a new contract and one argument is that they provide a halo effect. So the insurance can claim to have the best in their network or get really bad press for losing them.
I think the in universe explanation was that it was a teaching hospital. But I’m pretty sure even those charge patients something in the US.
Yes, another in universe explanation, that I already commented somewhere else, is that the hospital is geared towards excellence. There’s an episode where Cuddy negotiates with an insurance provider for a new contract and one argument is that they provide a halo effect. So the insurance can claim to have the best in their network or get really bad press for losing them.