"No" won't work...

Until the patients themselves are paying for a good portion of their treatment, rather than today's incredibly screwed up system where somebody else (insurer) pays, there's absolutely no incentive for people to consume less care.

It's analogous to your car insurance covering a brand new paint job if you get a small scratch in a parking lot, only if your company paid for this "gold-plated" car insurance. Other than the small inconvenience of having to wait for the car to be painted, why wouldn't you have it done? You wouldn't be paying for it, your insurance would. And, your insurance would be provided by your employer.

Sound familiar? As is, you pay directly for your car insurance, and set a deductible that you think you can live with. Damage that falls under the dollar amount of the deductible you either fix out of your own pocket, or live with. Car insurance is really there to cover catastrophes like major accidents. It doesn't cover routine maintenance like oil changes, wiper blades, etc. - it's there in case you have a true emergency.

Healthcare on the other hand, covers everything you can think of. Why shouldn't you be able to pay for a physical, or treatment for strep? You need health insurance if you get cancer, or have a major injury.

The entire system is skewed by third-party payers, and until we address this, we'll never bring down costs.

in reference to: Economic Scene - To Cut Health Costs, U.S. Needs to Learn to Say No - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)