Thoughts on medical insurance

I still don't get it: why do so many politicians and others in this country think that health insurance will solve the problems of lack of health care? I have good insurance, particularly good drug coverage, yet every time we get a new prescription that is unusual or mixes up drugs in a way that the insurance company doesn't want to accept, the doctor has to write a statement of medical necessity and send it to the drug company. It seems to me that a prescription is already a statement of medical necessity. So my conclusion is that the insurance company is just jerking us around.

And medical insurance doesn't mean that you have all the coverage you need. The insurers force the doctors and hospitals to cut their costs so they make up the difference with the uninsured. At the same time, the insurers will force you to justify every medical expense and limit your access to some medical procedures or at least hassle you so they can keep the money longer and make more interest.

The only insurer I've not had major discussions about coverage with is Medicare. So, if a government-run program is so bad, why is medicare so successful at helping people pay for their medical costs?