Why do the doctors charge so much in the first place? What are their costs? Why are their costs so high?

We come across a somewhat similar situation in veterinary medicine all the time. Our clients will go OFF on how expensive our care is...but forget we're really cheaper than their doctor and there's just no insurance to make up the difference. so that's how I'm looking at this.

For example, part of the reasons why veterinarians charge so much is that we have massive school debt. Are doctors in a similar situation? Can something be done to mitigate that? I know that most veterinary students go to school almost purely on loans. There just aren't more than a few large scholarships!! And even 10 500 dollar scholarships don't pay for a whole semester of out of state tuition (PS. no one ever gets that many). Another area to look at would be the cost of supplies and why those are so expensive. DOES a 5 L bag of LRS need to be $50-something bucks? Where can clinics take steps inside their own hospital to prevent unnecessary losses through poor communication, absent paperwork, etc...

Or, looking at other aspects of the system, how much has our sue-happy culture contributed to the cost of health care? Professional liability insurance isn't cheap!! Neither are lawyers hired to defend doctors or go through their paperwork to close loopholes and prevent suits.

I just feel like there's so much more to the problem than just the patient insurance. If it was that simple, we probably wouldn't have the same problems in veterinary medicine!!