[npsimons]

This really doesn't make any sense to me; do you have any sources for this? Everything I've heard about problems with healthcare in the U.S. falls in line with the OP, along with:

1) People go to the emergency room precisely because they don't have insurance, and what's more, they wait until the last moment (ie, when it's most expensive to treat) [1].

2) If people were really getting so many tests done and going as early as possible, surely the U.S. would be far ahead of most other countries in terms of preventative medicine [2].

[1] - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/emergency_roo...

[2] - http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/I...