> pharmaceutical companies

But it’s hospitals/labs which are as bad or much worse in this regard. “Greedy” pharmaceutical companies are just a boogeyman, insurance companies, hospital admin and doctors are just fine with charging “random”/arbitrary fees based on clients perceived ability to pay and not in anyway related to actual costs.

It’s both. Pharmaceuticals companies are not an innocent bystander. Everyone is happy to get this big piece of the pie, including drug companies.

Of course not. It just seems that they might actually be the most transparent segment of this entire system which makes more visible.

And well… from the society’s perspective high/very-high prices for new drugs for a decade or so (20 years seems too long though) might be a good deal if it results in very high investment into R&D.

These are all correct, but as an individual you’re pretty much limited to writing to your representative. You can’t opt out in any immediate sense.

See my nearby comment on Direct Primary Care. It is possible to partially opt out of the system, and fortunately it is the part of the system that you touch most often (or should be anyway).