Healthcare seems to flirt with supply and demand but operates under a somewhat different set of rules. Consider the typical healthcare payment system and explain why the operating room is much busier in November and December than in the earlier part of the year.

Why has of price breast augmentation and Lasix procedures fallen over the last few years while the prices of hip and knee replacement have gone in the opposite direction?

If there is a relative shortage general practice physicians, why are many medical student turning away from family practice and internal medicine? Shouldn't a shortage of physicians increase the price of such services, eventually leading to more providers? What is the role of government in these markets?