He went in for a colonoscopy. The hospital charged $19,000 for two.

Tom Contos is an avid runner. When he started experiencing rectal bleeding in March, he thought exercise could be the cause and tried to ignore it. But he became increasingly worried when the bleeding continued for weeks.

The Chicago health care consultant contacted his physician at Northwestern Medicine, who referred him for a diagnostic colonoscopy, at least partly because Contos, 45, has a family history of colon issues.

"I work out a lot," he said. "But my partner said this isn't normal. My primary care physician said, 'Given your family history, let's get you in.'"