Medicine has come up with more wonder drugs, procedures, technologies than ever before. All of it very expensive, too. It all comes at a big price. It's becoming more and more difficult to deliver it to everyone.
Have we gone as far as we really can practically manage, without going broke? More and more can be done, but will it end up bankrupting us? Obama is talking a lot on controlling Medicare costs before it goes bankrupt.
There's a lot of talk of how socialized medicine, universal coverage, is our salvation. But, is it really? I seriously doubt it.
How much does one MRI machine cost? Astronomical. Think of all the other expensive machinery in the hospital. And, at what cost is the regulatory burden? Then add in all the other costs. After that, figure in a bunch of heroic new surgeries and treatments. How about surgery on babies in the womb? Genetic manipulation, cloning body parts, new expensive treatments for AIDS patients with drug regimes totaling in the tens of thousands a year. Then add on all the new dialysis patients expected in the wake of our obesity/diabetes epidemic.
