Reflections of a stormy petrel

Yes, but that is beside the point. Like the medical profession itself, which fought the Clinton National Health reforms tooth and nail, the insurance business has built up a great position on the lack of national or state provision for illness and disability. Do not tell me that, if the opportunity for a serious health reform came up, they would not oppose it. They would have to, because it would mean an immediate hit in their pockets. And so the forces that oppose a sensible health policy in the US are not only, as you claim, popular short-sightedness and selfishness, but some important corporate and social interests. I still say that the responsibility of the insurance business is nothing like that of the medical profession (one American doctor I met felt that the AMA had hated Bill and Hillary Clinton so much that it was they who had brought about the Whitewater investigation and Cigargate; that is obvious nonsense, but it gives you an idea of the ferocity of feelings unleashed), but as things stand, it stands against reform.