I just want to clarify a few things, as it would be charitable to say that there are a few misunderstandings in this thread. I am working on a company that is t

I just want to clarify a few things, as it would be charitable to say that there are a few misunderstandings in this thread. I am working on a company that is trying to solve some of these issues; this is a complicated industry that I am still learning much about: hopefully some of what I have learned will be of interest to some of you. The PPACA (Obamacare) is seeking to address this very issue by changing medical reimbursement form a fee-for-service model (e.g. $40,000 to remove a splinter and $10,000 for blood tests and $5,000 for aspirin) to a capitated payment model with additional incentives for providing good outcomes (providing good service). This means that a caregiving organization would get $N a year to care for you, as a male patient with a heart disease in your mid fifties, with N varying as demographics and conditions change. This change will necessitate a sea-change in the way doctors and other caregiving organizations will treat their patients. In fact, it will result in the creation of a new type of healthcare organization (accountable care organizations, or ACOs) with the primary purpose of bringing down the costs of healthcare (and improving health outcomes). This is a paradigm shift in medical practice. CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) is spearheading this change; something which would be virtually impossible to do without such a large (read: government) player taking the first move. There are a million problems with CMS and the government in healthcare, but this is one of the greatest things they have ever done.