Why does the price of things not covered by insurance continue to get less expensive year after year?

Competition, just had a laser treatment on my eyes.

It doesn't.

If today you can find an item for sale that is absolutely identical to the same product that was available in the year 1910, and in 1910 it cost $4, today that same item costs about $100. That is due to the government spending or obligating more that it receives in revenues. It is called monetary inflation. Politicians love it because it hides the real reasons for price increases and allows them to blame "greedy" businessmen.

I haven't seen Benadryl get cheaper. Nor band-aids. Nor any other over the counter, non insurance items. However, prescription drugs can skyrocket overnight, and can have wildly different prices from pharmacy to pharmacy. No matter which store you're in, a pack of band aids or ibuprophrin is about the same, give or take a dollar or two. The medicine I take daily to stay alive varies from $4. per month to $27. per month, depending on the pharmacy. And as I hear about other medicines suddenly skyrocket on the news, I can't help but wonder if mine might one day. It makes me nervous. Right now, thank goodness, I have cheap medicine. But I know one day that may not be the case. Oh, and I'm a cash payer. I don't know why you think things not covered by insurance get less expensive. I haven't seen the prices of anything go down. Cold and allergy medicine has gone up, but only slightly. It sure hasn't gone down.