#6–re ‘retiring early’: I can guarantee you this is already happening. Morale amongst doctors is awful, hardly any of them (that I’ve talked to anyway) are encouraging their children to go into medicine, young doctors are weighed down with heavy debt and not doing as well financially as they’d hoped.

Ditto for nurses, who work in short-staff environments minus the aides, orderlies and practical nurses who used to be around to share the work. They have to stay after shift to complete the paperwork which is largely surplus but theoretically will protect the hospital from lawsuit (according to their ‘risk consultant’).

In the private office, staff have to be increased to cope with the insurance and HMOs, arguing over every jot and tiddle of every form, while fees get cut repeatedly–notice how our president proposes to save money buy cutting payments to doctors.

Who wants this? We are crapping in our own nest.

#9–yeah! “Provider” … “consumer”–bah!! There are doctors, nurses, and patients.