ok now that i've seen what others on here think
It costs an incredible amount to get a drug (or investigational device) on the market, maybe more than any other product, so its a good thing that patents expire and generics are available. RL, perhaps there should be another player: regulating bodies (eg FDA).
I dont have any figures but I would not be surprised if HMO and insurance administrators are making bank and draining the system. The bureaucracy tends to proliferate itself. At first I thought that this would just be picking on them since they arent here to defend themselves.
The real problem is that we have this pseudo socialized medicine. Insurance is supposed to be the great homogenizer for care, but does it accomplish that? no. no it doesnt. I think the most we can hope for is to recreate our view of what medicine is for. Maybe there would be less lawsuits if people didnt view health care as a "scarce" commodity. There would be less HMO administrators making the lives of patients and providers into hell, because of a change in perception.
all IMHO