I know you didn't ask my opinion, but if they really want to fix our healthcare crisis, one HUGE step forward would be limiting medical malpractice lawsuits. My dad pays over 50% of his income to malpractice insurance, and he's never had a lawsuit brought against him.
While I agree that there are a significant number of frivolous malpractice lawsuits, I cannot think of a way to limit them without raising the bar for those who do have legitimate complaints. That's why we have juries and judges.
That said, there can't be too many of them if your dad has spent 35 years as a surgeon without a single one being brought against him. Surgeons have the highest level of malpractice suits, which explains the high premiums.
And, then,
that said, is the problem the lawsuits, or is it the malpractice insurance company that's the problem?
The LAST thing I'd want to see is the level of skill required to become a doctor being lowered because there is less competition in the field.
Your argument is internally inconsistent. First you argue that the current system is not affected by those just searching for money, and then you argue that removing the people that are just searching for money would be bad.
That said, I don't think that the enormous debt that medical students racks up weeds out those who are only in it for the money; it merely weeds out those who don't plan long-term. I'm not saying that these people are bad doctors; I'm just saying that, given the choice between the two, I'd rather be treated by the one compelled to help people.
I have non-medical relationships with a number of doctors, and the one thing they pretty much universally hate is our current insurance system. One left private practice to become an employee of a hospital specifically so that he could avoid dealing with health insurance. Another has a problem with migraines that keeps her from practicing regularly, and she cannot afford to pay malpractice insurance if she isn't going to be working basically every day. Yet another retired early because she was tired of kowtowing to the insurance companies and limiting her patient interaction in order to plow through enough of them. Another regularly worked at least 14 hour days until her retirement in order to both see enough patients and actually spend time with them.
I feel certain that at least some people looking to enter the medical profession encounter these situations and, based on them, change their mind before they ever get started. They probably go into veterinary medicine instead.
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