Doctors are already paid absurd salaries in the US and the barriers to entry already high. As much as we all hate dealing with insurance companies, when I lost my insurance and had to pay for things out of pocket, the difference between what they charged me and what they would have charged an insurance company was obscene. Insurance companies actually do a pretty good job of reducing the costs of medical care, although some of the same power and information asymmetries still exist (that is, I'm saying that doesn't necessarily make the insurance companies the good guys). But the consumer has no bargaining power on his own and he doesn't know enough to challenge or negotiate. And the entire regulatory structure puts all the power in the hands of the doctor, not the patient. I don't see this as being a good trend for consumers. I find this to be very worrying.

Edit: since this my "absurd salaries" remark seems like it might be the most controversial bit, I was thinking of I was referring more to information like this: http://www.motherjones.com/files/blog_physician_compensation...

That's because it sidesteps many issues like how hard it is to become a doctor by simply comparing the pay of American doctors to the pay of doctors in countries with national healthcare. By "absurd salaries" what I really should have said was that American doctors are paid significantly more than other countries.

Of course everyone, no matter what their job, thinks they work too hard for too little pay.