Apologies. I meant cosmetic or optional surgeries (which is what you originally referenced). Elective surgery just means that it is scheduled in advance, not that it is a trivial or unnecessary procedure. Elective surgery covers everything from cosmetic surgery to non-emergency procedures like mastectomies.
But I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make here. Many medical procedures are necessary even if not urgent, and healthcare costs in a privatized system like the US are astronomical. Emergency procedures and life-sustaining medications like insulin, that cost a fraction of the price in other nations, are bankrupt-worthy events in America. And people have no choice but to pay it. People’s health are being held hostage by these companies.
The number one priority of a functioning healthcare system should be the care of their customers, which is antithetical to a company’s priority of delivering value to shareholders and executives. And when your product is a basic essential and you have a captive customer base, it’s really easy to make huge profits by cutting costs and jacking up prices because you’re customers have no other options.
Most nations care about the health of it’s citizens, hence why every single developed nation has some form or other of universal healthcare. Because a healthy population makes a robust workforce and actually substantially reduces healthcare spending by the government.
