Now this is not to say that this is an incorrect method of funding research, but it revolves around money and not health. Returning to Deanna's comment, doctors are constantly caught in the middle between patients and insurance companies. Physicians often find themselves battling with a telephone receptionist on the other end who does not know the difference between an orthopaedist and an oncologist but has been instructed to essentially deny any sort of treatment. The game has become to deny what they can in the hope that, due to lack of persistence, the claim will be forgotten. Physicians become frustrated because their ability to care for their patient is being restricted by someone with no knowledge or understanding of the situation.
Patients become frustrated due to all the added hassles of seeking medical treatment.
I had knee surgery several years ago and the surgeon did not receive a payment for months. The insurance company denied payment initially because they don't pay for elective cosmetic surgery. The medical profession is now being run by insurance companies, not by doctors or patients. Medicine is the only profession where payment isn't required at time of services rendered and where partial payment of fees is considered adequate. Your plumber certainly won't come fix your sink if he knows that you won't pay him for months to come and only partially pay him for his services.