Alex, the US taxpayer rarely pays doctors directly. They typically send money to states (Medicaid) Hospitals and Providers(traditional Medicare), to insurance carriers (MA and ACA), and indirectly through tax savings for individuals and employers ) You are right that we overpay. We spend far too much on healthcare. We overspend because we send the most money to the carriers and give them every good reason, to scale as big as possible , to contract at inflated prices, to invent fees and to delay and deny care when they can. Then there are the PBMs etc etc Break up the big carriers by vertical , make intercompany transfers at Medicare rates or best price until then , remove formularies from their PBMs, make extra cash purchase count against the deductible , make non profit hospitals and providers publish every general ledger entry , stop 340b abuse, I can go on for days on how we can reduce the cost of healthcare. As far as over treating , there are lots of reasons. Lots of paperwork, lots of lawsuits, lots of economic incentives to generate more revenues. But of all I just mentioned, the people that benefit the least financially, are the actual caregivers. Doctors and nurses get shit on regularly. They should be able to open their own practice and survive financially. They shouldn’t be at the mercy of insurance companies. They should get the same Medicare rates that hospitals get for the same work. The best part of this is that you can help. Where do you get your insurance and who is your PBM Alex ? How many companies have you educated to walk away from the biggest insurance carriers and their PBMs ?(Mark Cuban)