Getting health insurance and why less is more

A couple of links this week, the first is to an article over at Get Rich Slowly from a real person trying to get real insurance to cover the real health of their family. I bring it to your attention because the post brought a lot of attention and comments, and unlike most of the flamewars, trolls, and baited comments on the internet, this is a reasonably civil discussion about US health care and insurance.

Second, among the comments, I found this column for your consideration. While the tone might be a little harsh for some, I must agree with the underlying premise that a significant proportion of the health care we provide (and some of the most expensive, I might add) is thoroughly unnecessary and wasteful. This concept is yet another in the long list of things in our health care system in crucial need of reform. For more about this from the scientific establishment, read about the new Less is More section of the Archives of Internal Medicine.