Isn't that the cause of (or at least related to) a lot of the regulation? Rules and regulations are often designed with lawsuit protection in mind. It's not for the benefit of patients; it's for the protection of doctors and hospitals.
Part D is not *the* solution, but it's a steer in the right direction. Seniors are used to thinking of gov't as being the entity that takes care of them. If we can get them used to at least a bit of their medical needs being met in private plans, then maybe they can be nudged to even more. The Advantage plans that are coming along with Part D are even closer to that.
We can't dismantle Medicare, but we can erode support for it. And Part D is the best shot at that. But only if Conservatives stop with the "gov't program" slogans, and get honest about what it is.
To answer your question, I must say that I don't know. There is certainly a correlation between regulation and the rise of legal insanity. You may certainly be right about some areas, but I think the reverse is true in others. How about a symbiosis?