Some reasons why healthcare markets are not nearly as efficient as other well-functioning markets (like car insurance): - Prices are extremely inelastic: You'l

Some reasons why healthcare markets are not nearly as efficient as other well-functioning markets (like car insurance): - Prices are extremely inelastic: You'll pay whatever you have to not die. - Consumers have far less control over what they purchase: they are told to purchase things by doctors, who may have different incentives. - Healthcare isn't a "commodity" that can be easily swapped out. Prescription drugs may be commodities, but doctors are not. People won't easily swap doctors, making the entire system less efficient. - There is no "perfect information", in economics speak: people know very little about what the quality of care they are receiving. - It's extremely expensive to bring healthcare "products" to market (e.g., new drugs, hospitals, etc.). Like building a nuclear plant, very high capital costs reduce the number of players that can enter.