Reply #7: The "shopping around" meme falls apart as soon as you have an emergency calling for a specialist...

[Hekate]

When my GYN quit taking Blue Cross I was able to shop around by asking my female friends, but I had the leisure to do so.

When our son was 16 he was in a bicycle accident. By the time we got to the ER the team was already in place, and thank God for that, because he needed a neurologist and a plastic surgeon. How in the name of all that's holy are people supposed to comparison shop for specialists you never expect to need? And the cost! It was approximately the value of our entire house before it was over. Blue Cross came through -- it took some prodding and negotiating, but they came through and did what they were supposed to do.

Krugman, as always, gets it.

Hekate