Cost ≡ When talking about an industry, such as healthcare, cost refers to the amount of resources that must be expended to provide a good or service. For example if you run a lab and the supplies and chemicals to do a certain test cost $10 then that (plus several other additions) is the cost.
Those "other additions" are where most in the general public don't understand the true costs of healthcare. The common costs are taxes, labor, facilities, equipment, utilities and supplies. Healthcare has higher costs associated it than most people think.
Labor- you need highly trained workers, e.g. phlebotomists
Liability Insurance- liability insurance in healthcare is astronomically expensive
Facilities- ORs, ERs, HIPAA compliant records, billing, biohazard waste disposal, isolation rooms, and so on
Equipment- Gurneys to CT scanners, medical equipment is incredibly expensive as the makers have to carry liability insurance in addition to the costs of design and manufacture.
All of these things factor into the cost of delivering a good or a service such as healthcare.
Price ≡ The price is what a consumer must pay for a good or service. Price is usually determined by the seller based upon their cost + the profit they want to make.
Profit ≡ The amount of money a seller makes above their cost. Price cost = profit. The percentage of profit to cost = the profit margin (or simply the margin).
Demand ≡ Demand refers to the number of parties willing to pay a certain price for a good or service. Its a little more complex than simply something people want. E.g. the demand for gas at $1/gal is huge. The demand of gas at $20/gal is much less. Some necessities will be in demand no matter how expensive they are such as food, water and healthcare. Other luxury items such as air travel and electronics see their demand drop precipitously as price increases.
I bring these things up because folks dont seem to understand that cost and price are not interchangeable. When people refer to the cost of healthcare they really mean the prices consumers pay. By thus oversimplifying they fail to take into account the factors that increase the cost in its actual definition.
People also erroneously assume that just because something is expensive the seller is making a big profit. Thats not necessarily true.
People also assume that demand is a static entity, that when the commodity in question is a necessity (such as healthcare) that there is no change in demand in relation to price. That is not true either.
Happy debating.