Where is the money going?

I believe this is the question that everyone is asking themselves. Health care cost are so high, yet the benefits of having health insurance doesn't seem to add up to what we pay. Where is all this money going? Who is really benefiting from all of this? Is it the money hungry insurance companies or is the money really being allocated accordingly. Many may argue that it is the growing population of the elderly that is effecting the system. However I believe that this is just an excuse used to justify the fact that the system itself needs a complete makeover.

Taking a look at the structure itself of the health care system, it is so confusing. There are so many exceptions and guidelines as to who receives what service. It almost seems as if I would like to have an illness in order to be considered for many of the programs provided by the system. What happens to those individuals who are considered to some degree perfectly healthy, and do not receive health care benefits from their employer and can not afford basic health care? We complain about individuals using the ER as a form of "basic" health care, when a lot of those emergency visits could have been prevented have they had access to regular Dr. visits. It seems that we are paying way too much into a system, that is being very selective as to who receives care, and in the end we are spending more money on emergency care that could have been prevented.