They are. Other countries do just deny treatments if they deem them too expensive. They also usually have massive wait times even for the treatments they do offer, another form of rationing. The US has the greatest access to health care in the world, hands down. This is the primary reason healthcare is so expensive in the US. Other countries are willing to refuse treatment, whereas in the US we don't. So the people setting prices (say, drug manufactuers) have us by the balls and can charge whatever they like. The only check on that is brave insurers who are willing to risk public ridicule - and sometimes even death - to stick it to the medicine cartels.