If our health care system is a "mess," then it's a pretty desirable "mess" compared to the rest of the world, where taxes are sky-high and access is draconianly restricted, as the author so elegantly recounts. If the prince of Somewhereistan needs specialized medical care, where does he go? Usually the U.S. Canada only gets away with their system because the U.S. is there as a safety valve for those unwilling to wait six months for their care.

We need less government in medical care, not more. We should abolish the medical practice acts and the FDA. Let citizens choose for themselves who will be their physician and who will compound their medications. I say this as a physician who benefits financially from these government regulations. I am partially protected from competition by them, but I'd ditch them in a heartbeat, and watch gleefully as the cost of medical care dropped like a rock as competition sent the price of an office visit or a prescription through the floor.