The answer to healthcare conundrum -- PTS

As usual, Milton Friedman had the answer to the problem with the medical services industry in this country, outlined in this Hoover institute article provided here.  In brief, the reason medical expenditures comprise over 17% of the GDP in the US, compared with an average of maybe 12% or so in other OECD countries, is because of our reliance on 1) third party payers (employers and the government via medicare and medicaid), and 2) the enactment of medicare and medicaid programs in 1965.  Prior to those two factors in our healthcare delivery system, our costs were comparable to other OECD countries.  The solution, according to Friedman: Get rid of the third party payer system, medicare and medicaid, create HSAs (health care savings accounts), let insurance do what it's supposed to (not provide prepaid healthcare but insure against catastrophe), and watch costs plummet while provider services improve.  If one believes in free markets and we all should, Friedman has got it right.  This article is a must read.