The cost of cancer/dialysis/diabete is quite relevant since those things are inherently expensive today, and you won't be able to pay it from your pocket unless

The cost of cancer/dialysis/diabete is quite relevant since those things are inherently expensive today, and you won't be able to pay it from your pocket unless you are in the top few % income wise. Regarding the 7 % costing 90 %, it does not surprise me much (the figure I heard in France was something like 10 % costing 60 %, but I don't pretend for their accuracy). You need to take into account that the 7 % are not uniformly distributed (age being an obvious factor). Also, in France at least, there is no such thing as Medicare/medicaid, so the mandatory health insurance costs can't easily be compared. Regarding the prince thing: I don't understand the argument of putting things from year X in year Y in 2013 dollars for things that did not exist at that period X. If we discover in 50 years a definite cure against say cancer, getting the price in today's USD is meaningless (how much would someone like S. Jobs be willing to have paid for it ? Much more than anything related to inflation).