Through your citation to the Dept of Justice you have made my argument for me. While 25% of the medical profession may be sued for malpractice...100% pay the premiums.

I dunno, Kev...25% is an awfully high number.  I'll bet that if one in four airliners were to crash every year, there wouldn't be very many frequent fliers.

I do not share your prognosis for the future of medicare.

Correction: it's not my prognosis.  How can you make such a statement without citing any evidence to support your position?  As a lawyer, I would think you could make stronger arguments than that.The figures I cited were taken directly from the most recent annual report of the Medicare Trustees released during the last week of March 2008. You should read this piece by Joseph Antos of the American Enterprise Institute on the state of the Medicare program.