Once upon a time, medical care was simpler. You got sick and went to the doctor. The doctor could treat some illnesses and did. Others couldn’t be treated, and so the doctor delivered the bad news. But then, more and more illnesses could be treated, and that cost more. Since illness is always an unwanted interruption and extra expense, somebody came up with an idea. Why not charge everyone a fixed amount for their medical care every month, then pay for health care from that pool of money when people need treatment. They called it Insurance, but they could’ve called it socialism or collectivism [except the terms weren’t very popular]. And that was fine so long as medical care was "not for profit." But wherever there’s a pot of money, entrepreneurs will not be far behind.
Two things need to be emphasize when bemoaning the rising costs of health care: (1) the costs of corporatization and (2) the costs of new treatments that were unavailable before.
I’ve never seen any statistics, though that doesn’t mean they don’t exist, to show how much of the rising cost is due to treatment methods that were not available five years ago. There has been an explosion, as well as technology to support it. And that is where a lot of the “rising costs” come from.
Added to the above:
We may not want to turn back the clock and un-learn how to do the latest imaging and microsurgery — but we at least ought to acknowledge that some of the rising costs actually come from things that benefit patients, rather than being a deplorable state of affairs.
As Barney Frank said years ago (paraphrased): in no other market do we bemoan the increase of utilization. If we’re going to judge medicine as a business, why would we not rejoice at the evidence that it’s share of the economy is increasing?
Of course, there are answers to that, starting with: it shouldn’t be a business. But his question does make you think.
While I agree with your point that the advances in technology account for some of the increased cost, that is also a powerhouse rationalization for a medical culture of excess. And there’s another factor, cya, that tags on costs.
Simple examples:
A friend went to the emergency room complaining of pain in her chest. Before being seen by a doctor, she had a chest x-ray, and ekg, and routine blood work – the “chest pain protocol.” She had Shingles on her lower rib cage.
Sharon had a “sleep interview” as she was checked in for her preop visit for knee surgery. They recommended sleep lab studies based on her answers to the questions – snoring.