Let's look at health care in terms of supply & demand for a moment. There is a concept in the economics called elasticity, it is a way of measuring how people react to a change in the price of a good. The definition of elasticity is elasticity= (change in demand)/ (the change in price) or (elasticity) /(change in demand) = (the change in price), thus if change in demand = 0 then change in price = infinity. The elasticity of healthcare, at least of emergency care is approaching zero, so hypothetically the price will be approaching infinity. Since there is no such thing as infinite money, health cost clearly can't equal infinity, but they cans behave as if they are approaching it. Mathematically cost approaching infinity would appear as an exponential rate of increase, and that is exactly what the data shows occurring in healthcare prices. It is possible for policies to temporarily reduce the rate of increase, but healthcare costs can never truly be controlled in this manor. It is impossible to control the cost of healthcare so long as it remains in the open market; the laws of supply and demand will inevitably push health care costs upwards towards infinity. The only solution is a system where market pressures do not affect healthcare costs, meaning a single payer system or something similar to it.
Graph of exponential increase in costs of American healthcare
Let's look at what that means in reality. Individuals never, or almost never truly pay for their own health care; a situation which is inevitable when you have a vertical demand curve. So who does pay for it? If you have health insurance from your employer they pay for it. If you don't you'll probably clear out your bank account quickly, then start relying on credit cards or loans. People often borrow more than they would expect to make in a life-time, putting much of it on credit cards or paying a high interest rate because of a reduction in credit caused from the money have already borrowed. This forces people so far into debt they have no choice but to declare bankruptcy, and by that point they have no or few assets left, so the bank and/or the credit card companies end up paying the bill. The people who do have the kind of money it requires to pay for their own health care almost always have it invested in the stock market, they would take the money from the stock market, then start borrowing money. You cannot get blood from a stone; individuals almost never have the money it takes to pay for their own health care, so one way or another someone else ends up paying for it.
If individuals aren't really paying for healthcare, the money just passes through their hands as it goes from one point in the economy to another, who is paying for it? The answer is Visa, banks, and corporations. The result is increased interest rates, which reduce investment and slow the economy overall. We are already paying for healthcare collectively; the money is essentially being deducted out of the economy at random, and in a way that is much more likely to cause an economic slow down than if the money were taken out of the economy in rational & predictable fashion by taxes.
A divide by zero equations in such a crucial sector of our economy is extremely destructive both socially and economically; as is seen in the level of medical bankruptcies and the humanitarian crisis which our health care system has created. Excessive healthcare costs increase interest rates outside Federal Reserves control, reduce investment, and weaken the economy as a whole. Using taxes to pay for health care is better for the economy because taxes can be structured to take the same amount of money from the economy, but allow control over where and how the money is deducted, minimizing the effect on economic growth. The zero elasticity of healthcare makes it a market failure.
From looking at healthcare in purely economic terms it is clear something must be done about it. Even the Republicans will have to admit this sooner or later, as the situation can only get worse from here.
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