Reply #2: We have to get rid of cost control as the main priority [View All]

and make delivery of timely care the priority. That means eliminating the profit motive. Once that is done, what we have can be re evaluated and redundant and expensive services pared down. There is no reason for competing hospitals in cities all to have MRI scanners, for instance, and having hospitals specialize will definitely cut costs over having them all in false competition with each other.

I say it's false competition because the consumer, who has not chosen to get seriously ill, is in absolutely no position to call around and find out who gives the lowest cost care. It just doesn't happen that way in the real world.

The present system is irretrievably broken and there is no way to tweak it to make it work. Edwards had the right idea: allow people to do an end run around the for profit system and buy into the much cheaper Medicare. For profit insurance would go the way of the dodo bird in most cases and be chosen only by the conspicuous consumers in the executive class in a few cases.

It's sad that none of the candidates running has thought this through and that all seem to be buying the propaganda of the industries that are killing us instead of curing us.