Why Is Healthcare in America So Expensive?

People give many reasons why healthcare in America is so expensive and most are probably true, or partly true: • Malpractice fears make doctors order more tests. • The way doctors and hospitals are paid creates incentives to order more tests and treatments. • Research and development of drugs and other technology is costly, leading to high prices. • Healthcare is a people intensive industry and labor costs are high for skilled professionals. I have no idea how much each of these contributes. But I do think one of the most important problems… is us, and the fact that we are protected from the cost of healthcare by insurance. Our back hurts and we want the MRI, even though it won’t change what we should do, which is rest, get some exercise and give our...

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