If there are any bad guys in the medical field, I think that it is the drug companies, with the huge prices they charge for meds, many of which I'll bet don't cost all that much to produce. I understand that they have research costs, etc., but come on; and hospitals, charging you $7.95 for a simple aspirin. Sure, nurses cost them money, but those nurses are being paid whether they are sitting drinking coffee, doing paperwork, or passing pills. Maybe they should buy their aspirin at Costco or something, and put 'em out on the counter, like the military used to do with APC's. Then there are the drug stores. If you have insurance, having a prescription filled costs, let's say, $75. But if you don't have insurance, that same prescription is $100. Why? They know how much the insurance companies will pay, and only charge that much. But no insurance, they can pretty much charge what they want.

Doctors, on the other hand, are for the most part hard working folks who really want to help. But some of them become complacient, lazy, un-informed, whatever. Example: A friend of ours in Central CA was having trouble breathing. She goes to a dr, he says it is just the lousy air. Goes to another, it is because she is overweight. Goes to another, he shrugs his shoulders and says he doesn't know. Goes to a fourth, he says "let's take an x-ray," which seems like med101 to me. Guess what the x-ray shows? Cancerous tumor on the back side of her sternum, which is preventing her lungs from inflating fully. Good news is, that after chemo, radiation, etc, she is cancer free. One doctor saved her life, three would have killed her. Lousy odds...