Things like standard TVs, appliances and the like do go down, or maintain costs in the face of inflation. But the history tells us that the price of medical care will rise.
Not because a syringe cost will go up, it will come down, but what it takes to provide standard care will continue to expand and increase in complication, and in cost.
Medicines are requiring more and more science and equipment, and right now we are trying to work out liability costs which are the primary cost driver of the pill area. Also the primary cost driver for doctors fees, and office overhead and the like.
We could kill all the lawyers. Otherwise, costs should continue to rise. The medical field is not mature. Only in a mature industry do do generally see cost reductions.
"The medical field is not mature. Only in a mature industry do you generally see cost reductions."
Agreed. I think however that the inflection point is at hand. While looking over the heap of paper records in my doctors office I was struck by the gross inefficiency of the whole process. Huge dollars can be wrung from this system and as the workers in the office attested, they have already started to computerize.
The fact that doctors are being literally priced out of business means that the status quo cannot continue... hence it will change.
The wild card in the process is how hard the medical professionals will fight this modernization. I think it will be imposed on them but its possible they could fight a delaying tactic.
I read that one hundred thousand people are killed per year due to the mess in doctors offices and hospitals. These can and will be prevented as time passes further taking costs out of the system. Couple that with cheap fixes to todays expensive illnesses and I think you have the makings of a reversal of trend.