THE LIMITED BENEFIT of comprehensive insurance: “What first dollar coverage ... does is drive costs. Since [it’s] about spending other peoples' money, naturally we want the right to spend as much of it as possible, even if it's not very useful.... I doubt it's coincidental that the health care markets where people pay their own way are the ones where there are more real efforts at cost control, like plastic surgery, fertility, and vision care.”

I think that’s right. When I see my insurance claim form and find that the sum of my copay and the insurance reimbursement is about 63% of the billed amount, I know that health care market is badly distorted -- and likely not in my favor.