COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -

Health care in South Carolina is a $35 billion a year business, just ask an economist like Lynn Bailey.

"It is a business," said Bailey. "It is not a charity, it's not a feel good."

One of the biggest in that business: hospitals. The Kaiser Family Foundation found hospital care amounted to 40.4% of health care costs in the state.

"We now spend on average, probably, $8,500 per person in South Carolina for every man, woman, and child on health care," said Bailey. "That's the $35 billion."

The top three of the Midlands' largest employers are Palmetto Health Alliance, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of SC, and Lexington Medical Center.

Why does that matter? You're never sick, so this doesn't affect you right?

Wrong, health care costs can turn up in unexpected places, like the price of a new car.

Consider this: When G-M sells a vehicle, $1,400 of what you pay is paying for GM's employees' health insurance.

The National Institute of Medicine estimated in 2009, $2.7 trillion in the U.S. is spent on health care. But they claim $765 billion is potentially excess spending. That's right: billions on what they consider unnecessary tests or procedures.

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WIS Investigates: The business of health care