There are two reasons why health care costs are going up: (1) people are living longer and therefore need more medical care, and (2) costs of medical advancement in prescriptions and medical equipment. If everyone lived perfectly, the cost of medical care would not decrease. People like scapegoats.
True.
But a lot of liberal activists make a lot of money trying to convince gullible state legislators that if they ban smoking and trans fats, they can save their helpless soon to be broke state Medicaid system.
They’re reaching for straws and the charlatans are more than happy to cash in on their stupidity.
There are also lawsuit costs and the overreliance on health insurance, due to various tax incentives. The latter kills the incentive for the health profession to find ways to save customers money, AFAIK.