People firmly believe competition will control prices. But people also firmly believe they don't want price discrimination once they're on fixed incomes, and w

People firmly believe competition will control prices. But people also firmly believe they don't want price discrimination once they're on fixed incomes, and want government to take whatever steps are necessary to pay for that. Healthcare costs for old people is most of the game, and those are regulated. No one is willing to challenge that. Thus, we have a market that remains too regulated for presently-allowable-competition to make a difference.