Is the US Health Care System Abused?

Of course, most people don't abuse the health care system. Most people don't run red lights, either. For sort of the same reasons. First - it's wrong. That stops 90 percent of us. Second - people don't like risk and if you feel healthy, why chance a bad collision? Why give a doctor the opportunity to say  "I found something wrong"? I get an insurance-covered well check every year, but it is something I'm getting a little cynical about. If I was offered a 'free' checkup for my car at my local repair shop, I'd feel the same way.

Let's talk about another group: the uninsured, emergency room dwellers. They are mostly in very bad shape and this is where the "skin in the game" crowd misses the point.

Sure they have to be taken care of - we have evolved to a level of human decency that demands it.
But the resources to help them are not limitless. Can I please suggest allocating those resources in an efficient way without drawing the ire of  MSNBC and the rest of the "shame on you" class?

I want that person next to me on the bus to be healthy. Period. If she is pregnant, then double my interest in knowing she is healthy. But what if she is having a normal pregnancy and for whatever reason she claims to have pain every month, goes into the emergency room and requests an ultrasound. Every month it is nothing and she keeps coming back.What do we do about people like this? She is not a bad person. Wants the best for her child. I think we can all agree on this. But she can't have all the medical care she wants, either. None of us can.

Can we get away from the "you just hate poor people / no I don't" arguments? The money is available. The best medicines are there. But like it or not, there is a bottom to the well. We need to figure out how to share it and make it last.