Good comment. One disagreement I have is the implicit dichotomy that it's either the doctors or the insurance companies who are soaking the patients/consumers,

Good comment. One disagreement I have is the implicit dichotomy that it's either the doctors or the insurance companies who are soaking the patients/consumers, and not both. Both the MDs and the insurance companies are rife with a number of rotten incentives and bad actors that contribute to expensive medical care without quality commensurate with costs. In fact, the entire policy debate over risk-based vs fee-for-service payment models is essentially the payers and providers arguing over who gets to rip you off.