Consumerism Lower Health Care Costs? Right.

From Health Beat, regarding a study on whether consumerism can actually lower health care costs:

"...Research by the RAND Corporation’s health insurance experiment shows that when you shift costs to the consumer, patients forego both wasteful and effective care. And this is particularly true of the patients who cost us most in the long run—those suffering from chronic diseases..."

Of course, if you don't get the preventive care or chronic disease management you need, you'll cost the system a shit load more.