Medical malpractice lawsuits are so frequently blamed for the high cost of medical care that when another, actual cause (not apocryphal, like lawsuits) of expensive medicine comes around, it's almost hard to believe. Exhibit A: End of Life care. This is the single most expensive segment of Medicare - the last 30 days of someone's life, when aggressive practitioners throw everything they've got at an elderly patient's failing body to see if a miracle might result.