I was told that the US had far less MDs than what is actually reported by the WHO. My bad for not checking my sources. However, we apparently have 40 MDs per 10'000. My main point was that doctors salaries have a minor impact on the cost of the whole system, and i think that still holds, though. If you calculate the ratio of the in-pocket sum that goes to the MD compared to the whole bill for a hospital stay, I do not think it is that high. So even if you are right about the guild problem, I don't think that makes it a solution. I admit I did not look at official numbers about that, though.