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After next elections, US will have a new president with new policies. They may be totally different to those of the present govt.

Too many doctors and too much medicine. Right. Except that U.S. doctors won't work in rural or poverty stricken areas. And they won't take Medicare/Medicaid patients any longer because the government won't pay them. Folks walking into a medical office without insurance can expect an average office visit for routine care to average at or more than $100 USD, heaven forbid the person should beill and need tests, x-rays, etc. And U.S. drug prices are so over inflated regular people can't afford the drugs they need to stay healthy (insulin, high-blood pressure meds, asthma meds, etc., etc., etc.). So while medical care may be available, somewhere, the people who really need it can't access it when its needed.

I don't agree that society is breaking down--we're no worse off now than we ever were. But neither is anything improving much. As folks in other threads have mentioned, the US ranks towards the bottom when compared to other countries in terms of healthcare, education, and social justice.

Its a little like why do men climb mountains... because they can.

There are market issues--employment insurance costs, malpractice insurance, the cost for medical providers to purchase medical goods/supplies (the price of which is grossly over-inflated), lack of adequate payment to medical providers from insurers/government programs (therefore, the patients have to pay higher rates to make up for what insurers and the government aren't paying), competition (keeping up with the Joneses), the high cost of medical education (tuition is rising at rates outpacing inflation), research and development costs/time (it takes forever for companies to gain approval for medical products/goods here), etc., etc., etc.

There are no cost controls here and our free market economy allows providers of what is essentially a public good (I lump basic medical care in the same "public good" category as I do education and public safety) to charge whatever they feel necessary to cover the costs of their operations--and make a profit.