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One thing that he failed to mention is that insurance companies have a vested interest in keeping medical expenses high. If they were to fight to lower expenses fewer people would need insurance (because they could pay for it on their own).

Fear is a great motivator for insurance and the insurance companies know it and try to ratchet up the costs to increase the fear.

The other problem is that the medical profession is virtually a monopoly. Most of what doctors do is prescribe pills and it generally doesn't take a medical degree to figure out the right pill for the ailment. Why should it be illegal for me to give myself a tetanus or penicillin shot and legal for diabetics to inject insulin?

All insurance systems are socialized -- they are inherently designed to spread cost over membership. The only difference between private and national socialized insurance is that the one is voluntary (sort of, as M.F. points out, via tax incentives and disincentives), and the other compulsory. And the only difference in profit between private and national insurance is that the one goes into the insurer's coffers and the other to the taxman's.

Insurance may be a necessary evil, but it should only be for catastrophic circumstances, rather than for everyday costs. Otherwise, as is now, it's like Midas, and makes everything it touches as expensive as gold.

Nicollo unmasked: Bromleyisms here

My family is the type that pays out a lot more out in medical insurance than we ever get back. Which is fair to a point, since the insurance company is assuming my risk. We only go to the doctor once or twice a year, if that.

Anyway, I went to the ER on Christmas Day because I'd cut my finger bad enough to need stitches. Insurance covered most of the costs, no problem.

Last week I got a letter from my insurer demanding (yes, demanding) that I fill out a questionnaire. The questions weren't about the quality of the care I received - they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to collect any other insurance, or sue anybody and not give them a cut.

The most telling was a statement: "Do not ignore this obligation to your insurance company". Gosh, and here I though that I was the customer and my insurance company had obligations to me.

These outfits know that urgent care is beyond the means of most people, and treat them accordingly. We're not customers anymore, we're cattle and are accorded like treatment.

We need medical savings accounts NOW.

I've got an idea.. we could further restrict the number of doctors allowed to train.

Also what other profession do you guys know where you need a doctorate to do routine jobs? Can you imagine if every car that was built, had to be specially designed by a doctorate of engineering? And the number of those doctorates was restricted by the state.

Can you imagine what cars would cost? Only the rich could afford them.. and those doctorates would live a privaleged life indeed...

Welcome to health care in America.