I was told recently that a number of the teams in the USHL make the players pay for their billets, which surprised me because I had thought that the teams picked up those expenses. Anyone know whether this is true?

That's not true. Billet is paid for but I believe the NAHL charges a nominal fee (a few hundred $ a month). Heck, most hockey players eat a few hundred a month.

USHL is completely free, except the spending money you need to supply your kid on a weekly basis. the only other expense is if your kid doesn't want to use the free CCM skates or equipment, they can get Bauer at a 50% off cost.