Somewhat relevant:

A 2008 report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that, historically, the largest contributor to the rising cost of health care is technological change — that is the availability of new (and expensive) medical procedures, devices, and drugs.

The report found that the second largest contributor to rising health care costs is the obesity epidemic and all of its associated health problems.

A journal article by Altman and Levitt (2002) pointed out that in the last five decades no single cost containment strategy has been effective at stemming the rising tide of health care costs. Maybe that’s because, as Steven Brill points out, politicians have been unwilling to challenge exploitative medical practices like the hospital chargemaster?

I read this article and felt LIVID by the end. I would really appreciate an on air discussion about this.