Ooh, you're right it'd be a waste of insurance money if people got medical care they didn't need. That would definitely give insurance companies the right to require prescriptions, in my book. But I don't see how it'd give the government the right.

And the lack of efficiency is part of what bothered me. I ended up going to the ER three times, which is ridiculously costly, and needing a lot more medication than I would have if I'd been able to buy some freaking Cipro the night we went to Orient Express.