Submitted by G. Schroeder MD, Mar 21, 2008 02:00

I would concur with John House on the Transparency issue - a crusade championed by the Dr. 'Truth' of the U.S. Senate - Dr. Tom Coburn . As a medical doctor with 10 of 24 years clinical and administrative experience in active medical practice in Canada and now intheheartland of America , I must implore you to examine the true realities of rationed care .Even though Insurance reform is imperative , it must be coupled with sensible , fair and equitable resolution of the medico-legal crisis resulting in inescapble inertial forces which escalate costs due to the unavoidable paradigm of inevitable practice of defensive medicine in America [ unnecessary tests , scans , redundant bureaucracy - not only insurance related , but also over-regulation by growing behemoth of 'BIG GOVT. unable to re-focus priorities on prevention of disease , and avoidance of complications from multiple co-morbidities - which continue to perpetuate exploitation of a legal tort system favorable to attorneys and their cohorts rather than patients. Far too many wasted resources go towards non -patient care related activities in the current opaque , non-transparent insurance market ,as I would concur somewhat with my colleague Dr. Fougner and to the medicolegal arena depriving hard-working Americans of affordable coverage. Canadian and other socialized systems rapidly decline and decay in their ability to provide Universal Access , even in the relative absence of a measurably sizeable medicolegal threat , mainly because of the complete lack of disincentive for inapproriate overutilization by patients, presented by the disingenuous political deception of some Politicians wanting to provide truly universal 'Healthcare to everyone'..and in actual reality depriving those truly most in need of high quality medical care of making sensible choices within a system - devoid of freedom and choice.

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