The biggest single component of rising health costs is the one the dems are positively on the wrong side of, i.e. out-of-control lawyering.
That and the fact that Congress insists on adding all sorts of benefits that have to be part of all employee health care plans, whether the employee(s) want them or not. Instead of keeping employee health care benefits to the basics necessary to treat illness and injury, they add all sort of elective type benefits and make them mandatory - the money to pay has to come from somewhere...