I find this show hilarious – not exactly in the way they intended. All the subtle (and not so subtle) liberal opinions the show expresses directly defy the concept of what Dr. Lawson does! People pay him lots of cash and he gives them more attention and better, more personal care than they can get anywhere else. Not only that, he can afford to work pro bono for less fortunate people because he gets paid well! Do you think a real life Dr. Lawson would be able to do what he does for the pittances a government controlled healthcare system would pay him? I don't think so.

We live in America, and over here you get what you pay for .

I recently joined a concierge practice similar to the one portrayed in Royal Pains, but different. Mine has a limited membership, while Dr. Lawson goes to whoever calls him and can pay his fee. In a way, I get more service from my doctor than Dr. Lawson's patients get from him! My doctor's website is http://www.mymd.us

Am I one of fewer Americans who don't get to spend time with a doctor or two? I take care of myself well, getting closer to 40.

WeaponX, if it's not punishment, why do you say that it is?– "since there is no immediate penalty and no requirements that force people to receive regular checkups"

People don't go to the doctor because they don't like it–even people who need to will avoid it.

I consider the USA series Burn Notice to be one of the best but my fear is that they will soon mess it up by trying to be politically correct. In the last show, Michael's line about torture never producing valuable intel is a left wing talking point that has now become conventional wisdom. They have never offered proof to support it. Ask McCain if torture is not effective.

Also what you are viewing as punishing people who are in poor health is not punishment, it's realism. We have to allow insurance carriers to realistically grade and charge their members based on their health, this will dramatically lower the cost of healthcare for the vast majority of people and provide incentive to those with poor health habits to do better. Currently part of the issue with our lack of preventitive care is there is no reason for anyone to have healthy habits since there is no immediate penalty and no requirements that force people to receive regular checkups.

And one of the ways Walmart combats idiot bureacracies is with their massive size. 'Want this gigantic, lucrative contract? Then you'll do as we say….'

It's absurd that medical care shouldn't be subject to market forces–look at cosmetic surgery and eyesight correction–it keeps getting cheaper and better. Why? Because it has to respond to the customer directly–rather than through layer upon layer of bureacracy.

And quite a few 'prices' we hear about with regard to medical costs aren't real–they're adjusted to deal with the multitudes that must be paid. When you pay cash in hand you get a whole different scale.

See, here's the thing, if insurance is for hospitalization–in the manner I mentioned above, a healthy athletic person WILL save money–because they won't have to go for regular doctor visits as much–a 'reward' that isn't paid by penalizing someone else. Their poor health is enough penalty–why show they have to pay for you too?

Cash should be the thing. Cash. High volume, lower prices.

Look at Wal-Mart and Walgreens–they're stepping into the healthcare area–and they're pricing things like they price everything. And while I moan occasionally about Wal Mart catering to the lowest common denominator, a brand name flat screen TV is no better if I buy it at an electronics store for a higher price.

(con't)

-The second issue in this short segment from “Royal Pains” is the claim that everyone, especially the uninsured, are dissatisfied with how the medical system works. In fact, a 2006 survey found that 89 percent of Americans were satisfied with their own personal medical care, while only 44 percent were satisfied with the overall quality of the American medical system. Yet, even 70 percent of the uninsured were also satisfied with the quality of the medical care that they received. To put it differently, only 2.3 percent of people are both uninsured and very dissatisfied with the quality of their medical care and a mere 3.9 percent are both uninsured and dissatisfied in anyway with their medical care.-

If you just watched TV & movies you would think that the doctors were hoarding food in a post-apocalyptic war zone and only feeding people in exchange for selling there souls so that the Dr's could live for another two weeks.