Health

The costs are in the high-ticket items it takes to recruit and retain quality researchers, the palatial buildings in which they work (and wouldn't work there if they didn't have them), and the extensive marketing apparatus to the medical community including product development, awareness, pharma sales personnel, advertising. You think 'junket' only applies to Congress?

It costs money to maintain a culture of prestige, you gotta give them that. The days of Jonas Salk went thataway. It's all competition and incentive, money juices the system, consumers pay for it in high drug prices or insurance costs.