Even having the equivalent of car MSRPs would be a huge improvement. As it stands today, you often cannot get any price for a procedure beforehand, not even a "forget about insurance, I'm just going to pull out a wad of benjamins and start counting until you tell me it's enough" price.

Plus, car prices don't vary that much from MSRP. I can look up a car's MSRP and know that this is approximately what I'll pay. If I get a really good deal I might get away with paying 10-20% less. If the car is in extremely high demand, I might have to pay 10-20% more. But I can get a pretty decent idea. Medical pricing often varies by a factor of ten depending on whether you have insurance, and which provider it is.