Our medical costs are so high because medicine is a for-profit business. Only a few clinics and hospitals are not for profit. Also, college is so expensive here, particularly medical school. Newly-graduated doctors typically owe tens of thousands of dollars, which means that their salaries have to be high. Medicine is a BIG business here. It’s not about public health — it’s about making lots of money. I have no doubt that my total bill for 5 days in the hospital will be near or above $75,000 and all the individual doctors I saw while there will bill separately, over and above the hospital bill.