Nicely stated Sue, well worth the read for those of you who tend to jump over anything longer than three sentences made up mostly of smiley faces, heh.
I would take issue with one or two minor points: I think defensive medical costs have been getting quite a bit of discussion of late, so "noone mentions it" is no longer accurate. A few years ago advocates of tort reform, particularly those with limited knowledge pushing for feel good legislation, would talk primarily/exclusively about the cost of the litigation and related insurance. When studies showed that the sum total of this impact, including ALL litigation (not just the frivolous) even in cases of clear and terrible malpracitce, only totaled about .5% increases in overall medical costs, the advocates had to find an argument that could stand up to inspection. Defensive medicine tends to do that. I have heard recent studies peg this cost at 2.5% or so, certainly not negligable.
