A lot needs to be fixed. Most of our problems boil down to lack of competition and regulatory capture. As a regular citizen, I would do the following. See if

A lot needs to be fixed. Most of our problems boil down to lack of competition and regulatory capture. As a regular citizen, I would do the following. See if your state has certificate of need laws and ask your state representatives to repeal them. If your state has these laws you are likely paying 5% more for medical services with no difference in quality of care. Look into direct primary care clinics. Oftentimes you can get wholesale prices for labs, procedures, and imaging as a membership benefit of their practice. You can find a lot of clinics that run in the $80-100 range per month per person. (usually cheaper if you have multiple family members) You get more time with your doctor, and the incentive structures in this type of practice are much better aligned than in traditional fee for service clinics. I would look into reforming the Hatch Waxman Act. Specifically I would require drug manufacturers to give samples of their drugs to the FDA which in turn would give them to generic drug manufacturers who want to enter the market. I would also end the (many) shenanigans that occur when drug patents expire. Let nurses and doctors easily transfer credentials across state lines. This is often unbelievably burdensome. Most prices aren't "real" when you get your medical bill. Most of the markups are insane and thus you can negotiate with billing offices to get a more reasonable rate. My general rule of thumb is to start at 10% of the bill and negotiate from there.