This sums up the US health care system and the HMO's that most people have for their health coverage....
Here's a transcript of how HMO's came to be:
February 17, 1971, 5:23pm in the Oval Office:
Ehrlichman: We have now narrowed down the vice president's problems on this thing to one issue, and that is whether we should include these Health Maintanance Organizations like Edgar Kaiser's thing.
Nixon: Now let me ask you... You know I'm not too keen on any of these damn medical programs.
Ehrlichman: This is a private enterprise one.
Nixon: Well, that appeals to me.
Ehrlichman: Edgar Kaiser is running his Permanente deal for profit. And the reason he can do it.... I had Edgar Kaiser come in, talk to me about this. And I went into some depth.
All the incentives are toward less medical care, because the less care they give them, the more money they make.
Nixon: Fine.
Take a listen for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QkgUkM0o6Q
People who qualify for Medicaid actually receive better care than those who have private insurance, because Medicaid has fewer restrictions than most HMOs. And the reason is that it's non-profit.