While much more complex, there are similarities between this problem and the problem of grossly inflated college tuition. Third party money removes incentives for those providing the service to control or reduce costs. It was also third party money that caused the mortgage crisis a few years ago (after Barney Frank and Company set the table).
If all of these markets had to price their products according to what their customers could afford out-of-pocket, pricing would be much different. As a society in general, we’ve got to ween ourselves off of dependence upon credit and other forms of third party funding.
Indeed. The hairball of corrupt political requirements is supported maintained by the shell-game of "third-party money." and much of that third-party money is simply printed, fiat money and government debt.