There are certainly other examples of information asymmetry. I go to my mechanic and he tells me I need a new voltage regulator or something like that. Do I need that, really? I know less about that than the mechanic.
But the healthcare system is worse than average in that regard. In buying insurance or in choosing a provider, you are not in any position to judge what is a better deal: each insurer has a complex pricing structure that is opaque to you until you need some care, and there’s lot of care you might need that you can’t research in advance. But once you need it, you have to wave that card you have and hope that you are not horribly screwed.
What also makes the U.S. healthcare system pernicious is partial monopolies: there are usually only a few health insurers in a particular market, and a few hospitals in a locality. So you are kind of stuck with what is on offer, and it’s not a lot of choice. In some localities, practically no choice.
