You should know that a general rule for most businesses is to keep "costs as low" as possible in the most efficient and effective way as possible.  Costs cut into profits, and if there is any way to increase profits without raising prices, the first thing you do is look at your costs.

However, that is not the paradigm the health care industry has been working on--and the reason is that the Federal Government let them get away not worrying about costs (in fact, it was to the health care industry a benefit that costs increased).  Now that is a system for you.  Only the Government could come up with a scheme like that.  

Fannie and Freddie were set up somewhat in the same way--where the "private sector business objective" was different from the "U.S. Government objective".  When those two things get mixed up, things can get quite costsly very quickly.  Remember we are dealing in the Trillions of dollars atmosphere when you start talking housing and health care on a national scale.

And when you just add the above two mistakes (Housing and Health Care) and who it impacted the hardest, well--that might help you understand how the poor-wealthy gap widened during a period where the economy actually was quite good.

ps.  The housing problem (although quite costly) has somewhat been taken care of now with the general rule that mortgage rates should always fall somewhere between the range of 3.5% to 4.5% (based upon current data and assumptions).  Anything other than that is price gauging the public in my opinion.  

ps2.  The health care problem has not been fixed, however.  And although good in the long run, some pain is going to be felt.  It's kind of like you woke up and discovered you had "double fractured" you leg during the night.  You will feel the pain until you get some "pain killers".