&gt;offer choice, allow people to shop around, and costs will go down, right?<p>Just wanted to point out that tough medical licensing regimes actually make it quite hard to shop around. This paper provides an interesting analysis: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;econjwatch.org&#x2F;file_download&#x2F;54&#x2F;2004-08-svorny-reach_concl.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;econjwatch.org&#x2F;file_download&#x2F;54&#x2F;2004-08-svorny-reach_...</a>. Or, for the short-of-time, a shorter, more biased summary: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;08&#x2F;25&#x2F;american-medical-association-opinions-columnists-shikha-dalmia.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;08&#x2F;25&#x2F;american-medical-associatio...</a>