Drugs - note in the article that Canadians might come to the U.S. to get drugs that are not available in Canada. That is because Canada tells drug companies HOW MUCH THEY CAN CHARGE when the drugs are sold. Canada computes the cost to manufacture the drugs, but doesn't include the development costs. The high cost of NEW drugs is primarily in order to re-coup development costs. After about 17 years after the patent is filed (perhaps as little as 10 - 12 years after the drug has completed testing and has been approved by the FDA), the patent expires and generic (lower cost) drugs will compete, and the price drops significantly.
Drugs are still developed in the U.S. because the development costs are allowed. Why should drug companies be forced to sell drugs below recovery costs? (Remember that only about 10% to 20% of drugs are safe/effective and get approved, so the costs must be higher to recover all the development costs of drugs that don't "pan out".
But what is needed most is "USER PAYS" ... not third party pays. If Medical Savings Accounts were used to cover all but high cost procedures (i.e. - the first $3,000 of medical costs are out of pocket ....), then users become more careful of what procedures they request. They are less likely to go to the emergency room for flu symptoms.
And of course, let us not forget the U.S. government's attempts to bankrupt the medical systems by forcing hospitals to provide free treatment to indigent people, illegal aliens, etc. Those costs aren't reimbursed by the U.S. government (and the taxpayers), but are "shared" by raising the price of medical services to the insured people.
A little free-market policies are required to put a bit of sanity in the health care industry ... or the U.S. will end up with a system little better than Canada or Great Britian.
Mike