The author has ablltuseoy zero clue what he's talking about, as usually seems to be the case lately with all the armchair morons solving the health care crisis without having a clue how things actually operate.Does the author have any clue how many J-1 visas the US gives each year to foreign doctors to fill shortages? That is the "release valve" we have to keep workforce supply consistent with need in underserved areas for the most part, since it takes 10-12 years to educate a doctor from scratch, rather than just recruit one.We happily benefit from the "brain drain" in medicine and, because we pay better, get most of the brightest medical practitioners and researchers from around the world as a result.The happy hospitalist has posted exactly how the system works-- prices are set by CMS (Medicare), and private insurance usually follows suit.In a big city or market with an abundance of docs, insurance companies will try to pay them less. This is all negotiated group by group each year with each provider.But mostly, docs make salaries based on how hard they work, and how productive they are.The quality of medical school graduates will PLUMMET to dangerous levels if we pay much less than we do already.This is already an issue in Canada and Europe-- the rewards are so thin there that no one is willing to put in the years and years of 80-100 hour weeks to learn the artDocs in the EU don't have to go into debt 100-200K, don't have do complete a 4 year bachelor's before med school, and on average don't have to undergo nearly as many years of specialty training as in the US required for board certificationThey also don't have to worry constantly about frivolous lawsuits and pay 20-100K/year in malpractice insurance out of their own pocketsBut most importantly, THEY JUST DON'T WORK AS HARD AS U.S. DOCSTheir average workweek is a fraction of ours, they take many more weeks off per year, and more holidays.U.S. docs are workaholics on average, to the benefit of their patientsIf you need a Cardiologist at 3AM on Saturday night in the US because of an acute MI? No problem.Found out you have cancer and need to see an oncologist on a Friday afternoon to talk about it? No problem.Money talks.Docs in the US bend over backwards for referrals and to make money, and are infinitely more available than docs in Canada or the EU.The simple fact is, all the whiners complaining about their docs in the US will be in for a rude awakening when the incentive of MONEY is taken away-- they will be shuffled to underqualified nurses and midlevels, they won't have phone calls returned at all hours, or have their doctors come in at night or on weekends as readilyYou get what you pay for.