If only US health care could be more like the Patriots (or even the Red Sox) and less like the Yankees

I don't much care for sports analogies but today I can't help myself.

• The US health care system is like the New York Yankees: spending more money than anyone else, under-performing its peers that spend less than half of what it spends, and constantly looking to reform itself with expensive new programs.
• The ideal system would be like the New England Patriots: achieving unprecedented superiority (the headline after yesterday's 52-7 victory over the Redskins: "Washington slapped here") despite spending roughly the same amount as everyone else thanks to the salary cap, emphasizing teamwork over individual performance, and constantly innovating. It helps to have a Wesleyan grad at the helm.

We'll never get to the ideal state in health care, but I'd be more than satisfied with something like the 2007 Boston Red Sox: spending the second most of any team and achieving the best results.Well, we can dream.