[keenmaster]

>"Every hospital I've been to seemed horribly understaffed.. and I'd be afraid of an underpaid surgeon. Not sure what waste you're referring to"

Doctor/surgeon labor scarcity exists for the following reasons:

- Medical associations lobbied the government to restrict residency positions a long time ago, and continually lobbied to keep them down until just recently when the shortages have become too obvious. They were even warning of an impending doctor surplus in the 90's. Ya, right.

- Medical associations and med schools have been smart about restricting the supply of doctors through our med school network and excessively tedious licensing system.

Additionally, the other OECD countries I've referred to have similar health outcomes for a much lower % of GDP. Clearly, universal healthcare did not worsen their population's health. If someone wants quicker healthcare, I'm almost certain the U.S. would allow supplemental insurance to get that hip transplant in 2 weeks instead of 6 months.

[squish78]

Thank you for all the replies, I have learned a lot. It seems like there are dozens of issues that need to be fixed in tandem. Meanwhile, I will stay as healthy as I can because that seems like the best plan for the moment