&gt; So I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s &quot;rent seeking&quot; that&#x27;s responsible for this.<p>It isn&#x27;t entirely responsible, just as no other factor is entirely responsible.  But they sure do reinforce each other.  For example rent seeking by the AMA means that doctors cost more.  Because doctors cost more, more people who need doctor services will need a payment obfuscation service (aka &quot;health insurance&quot;).  Because &quot;health insurance&quot; is doing a lot of the paying, it encourages other parties (eg medicine and equipment) to rent seek against them, as it is easier to convince one party than every patient.  I&#x27;ll stop here, but can keep going!