I think that inelastic demand and relative difficulty of ability to price compare lead to it pretty naturally Once you have an insurance layer in the system. I

I think that inelastic demand and relative difficulty of ability to price compare lead to it pretty naturally Once you have an insurance layer in the system. I mean, if you get shot, and the ambulance rushes you off to a hospital, you (literally) can’t haggle and shop around. As for it staying like it is, laws in the US radically favor entrenched monied interests because of lobbying, and we have a huge amount of political propaganda convincing uneducated voters to vote against their own interest to the extent that votes even could do anything.