If the US government forbid any federal or state agency from even negotiating software prices with volumes in the tens of millions (ala Medicare/Medicaid), the

If the US government forbid any federal or state agency from even negotiating software prices with volumes in the tens of millions (ala Medicare/Medicaid), the vast majority of pure research feeding the industry was publicly funded, and the market was as economically opaque and uncompetitive as healthcare then yes the two industries would be comparable.