Thank you Joe for taking so much time to respond to my question.  You have caused me to look at this whole situation in a new light.  I had always been against tort reform and after reading your reply feel that tort reform would be an artificial fix.  From what you are saying is the system is made by lawyers for lawyers. So maybe the fix is to enforce the K-I-S-S methodology - Keep It Simple Stupid.  Throw out almost all laws and get back to basics. You make some interesting and compelling points, thank you!  ------------------------ Keith Smith --- On Sun, 8/29/10, joe@actionline.com wrote: From: joe@actionline.com Subject: OT: Plug Digest, Vol 62, Issue 31 - the unfixable problem. To: "Main PLUG discussion list" Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 5:51 PM A response below (bottom posted ;) [snipped] > ... I took my wife to > the ER and the charge was $3054.00 for the hospital and the doctor wanted > $665.  She received a doctor's assessment, 3 xrays, and antibiotic, and a > tetanus shot.  We were there for an hour and 15 minutes max.  I was > expecting $500 - $700. > > After more than an hour on the phone, covering 3 calls, and telling them > this would make a great media event, they finally reduced the hospital > charges to $760.00.  I'm still waiting to see if the doctor will reduce > his charges.   > > The tetanus shot alone was almost $1000.00.  They admitted that we could > get the same shot at a doctor's office for $30.00 or $40.00. > > So how do we fix this problem? I used to think that I had answers to most problems ... but every day that goes by now, I realize that I have fewer and fewer answers. In part it's because the world has become an ever-more complex place ... but an even more pervasive problem in our society today (as I concluded my last previous comments) ... is simply greed. At this point, I don't think that there is a "fix" or a reasonable solution to the so-called "health-care" nightmare. Greed has killed common sense. While there are always honorable, caring people in most fields of human endeavor, the great tragedy is that the greedy are now so pervasive and so controlling in the so-called "health-care" field ... and the fact that most so-called elected representatives -- those who control the fabricating of man-made laws -- are lawyers who have basically no interest in doing what would be the right thing to do.  Rather, they invent legislation that is so convoluted, complex, and compounded that everything has to be endlessly litigated to death. So, lawyers and legislators intentionally create legislation that has nothing to do with justice.  Rather the laws are created so lawyers can run the meter to get money. Recently, when I was charged $280 for a 10-minute doctor appointment, I commented that I wished we had the option to sign an iron-clad waiver that no matter what the results of any "medical" consultation or treatment might be I would forfeit any "right" to sue so we could get medical/health care back to just paying for "service" actually rendered rather than having to pay ridiculous amounts of money for lawyers and lawsuits.  He said, that was impossible because I as a patient could not stop other "interested parties" from suing ... even against my will. Therein lies a huge part of the so-called "health-care" cost.  Lawyers and insurance companies taking their bite while providing no value-added to society. Greed by lawyers.  Greed by suers.  Greed by pharmaceutical companies. Greed by so-called "doctors" who are in it for the money rather than to help people.  Greed by people who are trying to "cheat" death by insisting on extreme treatments waaaaay past the time that they should have just let go and let the inevitable happen. Recently there was a feature (on CBS 60-minutes I think) in which it was pointed out that something like half (I think it was) of all medicare expense is paid out for medical tests and procedures for people who are terminally ill and in the last two months of life ... many of them comatose for that entire time ... artificially kept alive on machines. That is an unconscionable waste of money that inflates so-called "health-care" costs for everybody else.  Too many doctors keep the meter running by keeping people physically alive waaaay past the time they would be dead without pointless extraordinary measures. The whole so-called "health-care" nightmare is distorted waaaaay beyond reason ... by greed. Thus, it is not a fixable problem.  Lawyer/legislators will never allow laws to be passed to put an end to outrageous lawsuits and insane awards for "damages" because it is their gravy train. --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss