[Jim Noble]

I’ve been making a living as a doctor, one way or another, for forty years.

It’s very clear that people (in general), when they are sick (i.e., excluding boob jobs and such) believe that paying at the point of service for medical, nursing, and hospital services, the things we misleadingly call “health care”, is a monstrous injustice.

The no pay rate which was 3% when I started is now >30%.

You cannot and will not have a free market under these conditions.

[wrench]

Personally, I am willing to pay in full, upfront for any service I need. Good luck finding a Dr that will do that, they all want a blank check with no idea of the total, final cost.

[kaila]

I would really like to know the statistics about medical mistakes being the third cause of death in the US. I have been a nurse over 30 years and have never seen patients dropping dead due to medical errors. I suspect they are counting people who come to the ER with a serious medical problem, and in the course of treatment they die.
Another point Stossel seems to make is that physicians don't strive to please patients under a bureaucratic system. He obviously has not heard about Press Gainey, which physicians are currently subjected to a rating system. Physicians do not want bad Press Gainey scores, and do try to please their patients.A study was done that showed systems with high Press Gainey scores delivered worse care, because pleasing patients may not be in their best interest.
Stossel does not know what he is talking about. Just because he was a hospital patient does not make him an expert.