My dad is an ophthalmologist and he does basically 3 surgeries that take up most of his work time: LASIK, cataract surgery, and cornea transplants.
Was it really necessary for him to do 13 years of schooling to learn how to do those 3 surgeries? I really don’t think so. I feel like we could train doctors in about 6 years (2 years of focused medical training + 4 years of residency / apprenticeship with a practicing doctor). If we’re honest about what doctors are learning, they would have about the same amount of time learning about their actual specialty compared to now, without so many hoops to jump through.
The current system is a cartel that must be reformed.
We also should consider international competition. There are competent doctors in India who could do expensive surgeries like hip replacements for 1/10 the cost AND get better results than the average hospital in the US.
At least we could sell health insurance across state lines...