>tightly regulate price setting for drugs and medical services administered under that system.

One think I think worth mentioning is that there is a significant difference between price controls and purchasing controls. purchasing controls is simply refusing to buy if the price is too high, while price controls is mandating a miniumum or maximum price for X. nearly every successful medical system uses purchasing controls, not price controls.

IMO, one of the main reasons costs are out of control is a lack of purchasing controls.