> Negotiated cartel rates and lack of price insurance sure do seem like a plausible component of our health care debacle. But other countries have for-profit pr

> Negotiated cartel rates and lack of price insurance sure do seem like a plausible component of our health care debacle. But other countries have for-profit providers and private insurance and they don't have these problems. Why is that? I'm reading your question as slightly rhetorical. If that's the case, and you have some thoughts, you should share them. For my part, I'd start by looking at the way other privatized systems are managed and regulated, such as Sweden's: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/dec/18/private-healthcare-lessons-from-sweden https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/dec/18/private-heal... > But what did the last breakdown you look at say about the percentage of our health dollars swallowed by prescription drugs, compared to caregiver salaries, hospital procedures, and long-term care costs? I'm not making the point that prescription drugs are the largest or even a particularly substantial contributor to the overall number. I'm arguing they're an easy-to-see example of the overall problems that most facets of the current system face. (By the way, the breakdown another user higher in the chain posted puts prescription drugs at 10% of overall costs, so that's a big chunk.)