I agree... in fact, I think I agree with almost everything in your post... so it's funny that you take Al's side.
my main point was really why in the gosh golly heck (refraining from f bombs :)) would we turn to a fraudulent medical system when were in the middle of the biggest medical scam in history. I totally get that we need to take care of people and the people are hurting and suffering, but funneling them into such a corrupt cesspool a bad science seems like the wrong way to go.
Alex, I think you're being too harsh on the healthcare system.
We need to break down what it is and what it isn't - again, I started working in insurance when I was in my late 30s. It pays better than Uncle Sam (a lot better). I've taken actuarial exams, earned a masters in healthcare economics and I am now in senior management at one of the big 5 companies. My team analyzes the data to understand cost drivers, quality improvement opportunities, risks, emerging tech impacts, contracting opportunities, etc, etc
First, modern medicine is really good at basic repairs. Think of it like an automobile mechanic. That is what it does best. If you break bones, get cut badly, have clogged arteries and heart attack, get a serious infection, have a difficult labor and delivery - conditions that would have killed you 150 years ago - then you want modern medicine in the modern healthcare system. Only a suicidal fool wouldn't.
Second, a lot of the improvements in health quality, expected life span, etc have been through public health measures, not direct individual medical intervention and is also due to better diets. This is usually taken for granted and even misattributed to advancements in individual medical care
Third, a lot of the massive expenditures on individual medical care are due to technologies (drugs, procedures that require specialized equipment and highly specialized physicians all in fancy costly settings) where the marginal benefit obtained is far less than the marginal cost of all of that stuff.
Also, all of that tech, etc is being applied to small % of the population in the under 65 year old cohort, but everyone is chipping in to cover their costs. In the over 65 cohort, there is a lot of waste on attempting to squeeze every last possible year, month, week of life out of fundamentally aged and infirm people. That's an ethical decision as much as a business decision. But once the tech is purchased it must be financed and that means it is probably going to be over-utilized. Insurance is serving as the financial guarantee. We don't want to, but if we don't, then the media goes to town on us (calling Michael Moore - we're denying widows and orphans the care they need to sustain life, monsters that we are). We'd prefer to eliminate the waste and keep costs such that marginal cost = marginal benefit; and keep premiums low. However, people demand the care and are somehow too stupid to realize that they will end up paying for it in their premiums. There's no free lunch.
I digress....
My main point is that there are some things that the system does very well. There are some things the system does less well. There are some things the system does that verge on total scam and there are some things that are, indeed, a total scam. All of these are offered and done
because people (consumers) demand them. Everyone wants a magic pill or procedure that will keep them alive. As long as the demand is so high for such things, someone is going to supply a product or service that they promise will do the job. Anyone - like insurance - that puts a foot down and says "no" will be pilloried in the press and in general public opinion. So the train rolls on. People are always looking for experts to tell them what they want to hear, especially when their very lives are on the line.
There is no "conspiracy". We have met the enemy and it is us.
Covid is a conspiracy, IMO. But that is not the every day medical system. That is a political thing playing off the fear/demand cycle I noted above.