Mxsmanic wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder writes:

I'd bet ignorance is right up there as well.

I dunno. Perhaps hypochondria or other factors play a role.
Although it's hard for me personally to imagine, I know that some
people enjoy the attention they receive in a hospital, and may find
any excuse to go there. The same can be true of going to the doctor
or dentist. Some people like being attended to, even in an
environment usually associated with illness and discomfort.

Another factor is the widespread belief that there must be no limits
on the care given to anyone, no matter what the cost or
impracticality. Everyone expects himself or his loved ones to
receive extraordinary care. Thus a great deal of money is spent on
treatments that may make little or no practical difference, such as
sustaining people in persistent vegetative states for years because
nobody is willing to pull the plug. Often this type of care is both
chronic and cripplingly expensive.

Hence ignorance.