>You kinda missed the point Mike. I replied to the question "Do you think you needed a CAT scan". If the government regs says no in this case then no cat scan. Without competition then there is not other place to go. Competition makes goods and services better.

James,

I think you've got the wrong idea here of how it works. Its not the government who decides, it still is the phys and the patient who make the decision. Up here the role of the government is to enforce regulation on costs phys can charge for certain procedures, the minimum coverage an insurance company has to offer and that insurance companies are not allowed to refuse patients with certain medical history.

We are still allowed to have a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc opinion and to choose our own doctors. Of course there is nothing stopping you from buying healthcare yourself if you feel that is best. In fact that is happening frequently if there is not enough expertise in our country and one has to go abroad. You might end up paying it out of your own pocket though.