September 16, 2002 6:27 pm - Another note to my comrades at the local paper, this time about their laughable "solution" to medical care.  They think Congress can solve this vexing problem!  I swear. To the Editor: I had to chuckle at  your solution to the medical insurance problem: let Congress debate the issue until there's a consensus!  Yeah, that'll work.  They couldn't reach a consensus on the time of day.  To suggest that a bunch of politicians can craft a system that addresses the disparate medical needs of millions is sheer folly.  Socializing medicine can only end in disaster, as do all centrally-planned schemes. With all the talk of Congress, employers and HMOs grappling with health care costs, the two parties who actually do the consuming and providing are left with a thoroughly unsustainable system.  All of the middle men distort the true cost of medical care.  Any patient paying a $10 co-payment for service which clearly costs far more will naturally have no incentive to conserve, even if his paycheck is pilfered to pay the salaries of HMO administrators.  On the other side of the equation, providers (doctors) cannot stay in business by serving all comers at the artificial price.  How can anyone be surprised that costs are routinely 2-3 times that of inflation year after year? At the risk of sounding trite, would it be asking too much for patients and doctors to negotiate freely over medical care?  Though this might be bad news for political hacks, lawyers and other social parasites, we might see better care at a lower price for more people.