I know how Medicare works. I've been through years of it with my Mom.

I'm telling ya - for certain procedures and prescriptions they're submitting claims to two insurance companies and coming out ahead.

Anyway, the point is that when medical care is free people overuse it. The doctor's always glad to give you another pill - then another pill to counteract the side effects of that one, and another pill for the side effects of that one, etc., etc. Oops, we better run some more tests here.

Like any business's expensive equipment, whether it's a bulldozer, a printing press, or a MRI machine - you need to run it as much as possible to make it pay for itself. That's easy for the medical profession to do since the doctor gets to say what's needed and the government and insurance companies are paying.

Also, doctors are scared to death of malpractice suits. The way they protect themselves is to test and treat for everything imaginable, no matter how unlikely it is. If they undertest and undertreat, they might get sued - if they overtest and overtreat they make a bunch of extra money. Tough choice.

What do you think about those direct ads for prescription medications on TV now - where they're trying to get patients to ask their doctor to prescribe some drug? My son-in-law doctor says that's a real pain in the ass - lots of people see stuff on TV and ask for it. If it won't hurt them, he goes along with it - if they want it, he'll write the 'scrip to keep 'em happy.

Irregardless, I think we oughta run another diagnostic test or two.