Healthcare Is Expensive Because Americans Expect So Much from It

This article went massively viral, “Why American ambulance rides are so expensive?” The focus is on ambulances, but it applies to all aspects of the US healthcare system. Ambulances are expensive for the same reasons the rest of American healthcare is expensive. There are factors unique to healthcare, and especially in America, that makes it especially resistant to being affordable: Paying for healthcare is not at all like buying a car, which is often paid in installments, compared to healthcare, which is upfront and all at once. People don’t need it until they suddenly do, and then no expense is spared. The instinctive response is, “Why do I need to pay for healthcare when I am feeling well?” This mindset makes people less willing to invest in preventive care or pay into insurance before they actually need it. Unlike other consumer goods, healthcare is also heavily subsidized. But this is not the root cause of it being expensive. It’s more like the response to it being expansive, not…