One word... (Score 1)

Medicare. This is what happens when other people pay the bills. And people want more of this? It is like any other government service. You charge as much as possible for the service as long as you stay within the government guidelines for price, you get to keep upping the price. If you actually let the market decide and not allowed a continuous government bailout of our healthcare system, read, medicare, then prices would get to a sane level. The greater good served by more people having affordable care would offset the number of those who could not afford it. I don't see why people don't understand how contracts and government programs work. We have a few examples, but hey, bread and circus, right?