Health care as economic cancer.

The escalation of health care as a percentage of gross national product has impaired the United States' ability to compete effectively in the international marketplace. It has produced a misallocation of resources such that funds are not adequately affected to refurbishing the nation's infrastructure, yet there has been no demonstrable improvement in the quality of health. Capital-intensive procedures have prolonged life of the elderly, preserved high-risk neonates, and allowed the application of organ transplantation in dramatic cases. This has resulted in insufficient moneys available for preventive medicine, prenatal care, and the provision of basic medical services for 35 million currently uninsured citizens. There has been a general shift in entitlements favoring the elderly to the detriment of the young. A reevaluation of our priorities in the allocation of recources in health care is in order.