I forgot the original sin of government and health care costs.
The system of employer funded health insurance that arose during WW2 due to wage controls. That led to the initial uncoupling of demand from payment. The government THEN proceeded to make it worse with medicare etc.
So health care is expensive because some companys pay for health insurance. There is certainly no law demanding that they carry health insurance. OK, if there is then the coverage is incredibly variable from one job to the next. Health care coverage is a perk carried by employers to attract employees.
By the way, if you pay one million dollars for health insurance and never buy a band-aid, your health care cost is zero.