He talks more sense than most politicians and pundits, which is why his knowledge and experience will be singularly ignored by those who are in a position to act on this.

The fact is that the bills are written in such a way to influence how doctors treat patients. There are built in incentives - however subtle they may appear to be - but they are incentives.

And the purpose of those incentives is cost-control, primarily because most health care dollars goes to those in the last year of life. It’s where the most savings is hoped to be attained.

My question (which probably should be added to Keith’s invaluable resource) - is what happens when the cost-savings don’t materialize? Who will pick up the tab then, seeing how government rarely shuts down entitlements, instead increasing their deficits and/or raising taxes to cover the shortfalls.