Why is health care so expensive?

Because it is subsidized by a cash cow. Medical services are paid largely through Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies. It is up to the medical providers creativity to document and bill for any little thing they might get away with. A pill given in a hospital might be billed out at $4 while outside the hospital an entire bottle might cost $4. Any request, any thing consumed, any referral made, any visit by an medical type is documented and billed regardless of length of time spent with the patient. It's a money maker. Under these circustances it isn't likely a customer (patient) would balk at the price and seek a better deal. Also, when there is an emergency, the patient doesn't have much leverage for negotiation.

There are plenty of answers to that. The technology involved in testing is often new and expensive. A fear of malpractice suits has forced doctors to practice "defensive medicine," in which they do all sorts of tests even though they are almost positive that the results will be negative.

Meanwhile, a lot of our dollars goes to a small percentage of the population. A great many people who are children and in charge of such decisions aren't willing to let the elderly pass on without exhausting every possible avenue of treatment -- even though the chances of success (in terms of quality of life or avoiding the inevitable) are very, very small. That can add up financially.

Because the government has decided to run our lives. This means that the (socialists) have all sorts of programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Title19 and BadgerCare (in Wisconsin), and the like. These programs make it so the doctors don't get as much money per patient as they would if it was completely out-of-pocket by the patient or with a private insurance company. Thus, the doctors have to raise their prices, making more people eligible for Medicaid etc., they get less money, and the cycle continues. And now, with ObamaCare, prices are going to go absolutely through the roof, the government will pay for it, and we will end up with debt exceeding GDP. The solution to the mess? Get the government completely out of health care.

Because drugs and equipment are expensive and doctors' salaries are quite a bit higher than say a plumbers. But one of the biggest costs is due to hospitals and doctors having to treat patients for free or those that have medicare or medicaid which reimburses doctors at a low rate and, what pay they don't get out of them - they get out of the paying patients. Those costs are just shifted to the patients with private insurance.

And that's why insurance is so high. They have to pay these high costs of care.

Because the people getting the care don't have to pay the bill directly. If there was such a thing as grocery insurance the cost of food would be much higher.

High? Compared to what? Being dead? Because we, as a society, will allow ourselves to say, "grandma is 70 years old, it isn't worth the cost to treat her cancer so she can be around a little longer. Let her die and we save $ 70,000.00 ( whatever).

Insurance companies have an overhead and need to make a profit as well.

Healthcare industry is for profit, not for your care.

Because it costs a lot.

because the medical sets their own prices and specializes too much