We only have one body. We cannot go down to the local department store and pick up a new body just to suit our needs. We have to make do with what we have.
The health care system’s product is our health and our life. Again, there is only one of these. The only alternative for someone who is ill or has broken his or her bone is to allow the illness to continue untreated and to allow the broken bone to mend in a way that will restrict the body’s function for the rest of his or her life.
Life is short. That phrase alone says volumes about the supply of life. There isn’t a lot of it, so when the health care system’s product is something as precious and short as life, in a market system, those who control the dissemination of healthcare can also control the prices.
Very few people willingly choose to die, no matter how bad their lives seem. Everyone who values his or her own life will always be willing to pay any price to extend that life, to have a few more moments with their children, to continue to be able to experience love, sadness, joy and anger. Those who control the health care system know this to be true and charge accordingly.