The primary, under-lying reason for high, and rising cost of health care is because we (we -American Consumers in need of healthcare) want it to be.
Beg to differ.
The driving factor is not that we demand the best. After all, what parent would say "Find the cheapest doctor to save my child."?
Rather one of the driving factors behind rising health care costs is that (most of us, not me, but most of us) want everything to be covered by insurance. And we don't want a deductible, only a copay.
I have used this analogy before and it drives home a point.
How affordable would car insurance be if it covered tires, brakes and oil changes for only a $10 copay?
The problem is too much of health care is first dollar coverage. Patients have no skin in the game. That in turn drives demand which increases prices.
Now consider laser eye surgery. Unless you are talking about cataracts, it isn't covered. What was once $5,000 per eye is now $800.
Why?
Because it isn't covered by insurance.