"It's the prices, stupid."

Heavy users of healthcare are sometimes referred to as the “frequent fliers” of the industry. But the similarity between healthcare and airfare has more to do with pricing than consumer behavior: think airports and hospitals, where sandwiches and bandaids always cost more than you think they should. This 2018 overview by the NYT summarizes multiple studies pointing to the role pricing plays in the U.S.’ out of control cost curve.