the socialist state that fades into oblivion. The health care industry is a classic case in point. Those selling the service have purchased and gained control of the market through longstanding well established lobblying efforts. The AMA has a near monopoly and the Pharm ind. has managed to thwart all attempts to force it to compete. What we have is the worst of both worlds. The poorest service at the highest possible price.

About three months ago an employee of mine injured the back of his hand on the job requiring seven stitches. The entire episode took around 2 hours from injury to stitches. The five minute ambulance bill was 1800. and the stitches came to 7500. No broken bones or lasting damage. The total cost was well over ten grand. There is only one explanation for the insane cost of medical treatment in the US. We don't have a free or open market. It is worth noting that some medical insurance companies are now flying their clients to hospitals in India in order to break the monopoly.