Great article. I think the narrative around health care is often around who has access to good insurance and who doesn't, and as the cost has skyrocketed we have doubled down on that debate. The real problem is that health care providers won't or even can't tell you how much something costs. This has set up this situation where, since money is not part of the decision making process, they just keep raising costs. Imagine a grocery store where prices are not labelled, and you get a complex bill a month afterwards. And every grocery store does this. What are the chances prices for groceries are going to be competitive? Zero.

If we can find a way to bring market forces to bear, it will pressure healthcare organizations to reorganize themselves to provide services in a more affordable way. And before anyone gets sanctimonious about putting money over quality care, consider the actual harmful effects of these crazy bills on people's lives. I used to do title work, and I became familiar with a pattern of people quietly paying their mortgage on their house for a couple decades, no liens, and then all of a sudden a lien from a hospital bill shows up. And then everything starts to crumble, other liens accrue, and I'm doing the title search for the foreclosure. A family just got moved from middle class to living in poverty. Our healthcare system is becoming a vehicle to impoverish people.