That is absolutely amazing how much money is wasted in the healthcare system.  I agree that the entire world could stand to benefit from us using even a small amount of that money for research, or even lowering medical bills and the rising cost of insurance.  My employer offers medical insurance, but it is almost unaffordable for most of the employees.  I was able to obtain insurance for my wife and son through a private company that sells for all the major insurers for 25% of the employer cost, and has the same if not better benefits.  I also agree that the repeated tests and exams are just silly, one would think that your records should just follow you from office to office.  On the other hand I know that many of the repeats are do to the legal ramifications.  It seems that in the healthcare field every thing we touch causes us more liability and the possibility of getting sued. I believe that the possibility of legal recourse is what causes most of the repeats that we deal with.  For example even though the repeated blood work will go to the exact same lab as the previous one, each physician wants to be able to say he or she did a thorough enough exam to back their diagnoses.  It is kind of a catch 22 and not good for consumers, but something needs to be done about that much waste.  I wish that I had a few answers, but I don't.