Government price controls on health care will lead to government ownership of health care providers. This occurred in the nursing home industry in Massachusetts in the past and absolutely could occur to hospitals, HMOs and other providers. When an institution founders, the government will "save it" with a cash infusion, taking control of a once profitable but now worthless business.

Nice reflection on a very complicated topic. Just to expand the conversation to a bigger picture, let's ask a few questions. Why should a doctor working 80+ hours/week treating the pain and suffering which walks into a primary care office make 25% of what a bone surgeon makes? Why should that same doc make 50% of what an aspiring junior associate at a law firm makes? Why should the highest paid within the community of health care providers make a tiny fraction of what the finance industry doles out to the stars of the finance world? Sure the finance folks have raped and plundered our entire society, but nobody seems to care about that. Why should the government squeeze the entire community of health care providers, yet leave untouched the community of computer geeks who make medical hardware and software? They, also take large percentages of the health care dollar, but again nobody looks in that direction. Just a few thoughts about the big picture

No matter how it is shown that health care is not like other things we buy it winds up with the free market mind set. Health care expense in any year is lopsided with 20% of a population resulting in 80% of the cost. It is also not predictable who will fall into this narrow category. When you do, the cost is overwhelming and insurance is necessary to pay for it. Therefore it is a universal necessity. It is time to stop dancing around this fact. Further premiums and government money(over 50% of the tab) pay for the system to be at the ready if it is needed. So we are all in since we all expect our serious illnesses will be taken care of when they occur. The training and housing structure that makes up the health care industry was largely subsidized by the government through Medicare and the VA. So instead of a disjointed apparatus that we have now, why not pay in a more uniform way? No health entity should get any special deals for the same service, basic care should be set without exceptions, and a budget negotiated that sets the premium price throughout the industry in a particular state. If they want to charge less because of greater efficiency, fine, but they should not be allowed to charge more unless someone can afford some extra perk such as private rooms, etc. Every body in and nobody out and each pay their fair share. In case there is some objection for paying for people who get sick because you are not, how do you think doctors know how to care for you if something does befall you?

The Free Market if "free" to charge whatever it wants and hire the politicians to protect that right!

It's a complicated issue, but the free market has given us the world's most expensive health care with sub par results. In other words, we're not getting what we're paying for. I hear people echo the "best health care in the world" mantra all the time, but it's simply not true -- we're way down the list. And people are unlikely to shop around for doctors based on what they charge, must less emergency rooms. I don't claim to have all the answers, but a little tinkering with the present system won't solve the problem.

That should have been "much less emergency rooms."

I don't know where you got the 80+ hours, but that's not the case. Doctors do work longer hours than most of us. Depending on their specialty it might even approach 60 hours. It's important to note, though, that with the advent of large doctor's groups the average physician's work week is shorter than what it once was.