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To: Texas Eagle

IMO proposals for healthcare “without Government interference” may be an entertaining exercise for newly minted Libertarians passing the bong in freshman dorms, but they are a complete of time when discussing actual healthcare systems.

If you could wave a magic wand and completely remove government involvement it health care (in fact, no such system exists anywhere in the developed world, or could) you would still face most of the problems and inefficiencies noted in the article - the healthcare “market” does not, and cannot, operate like other “competitive markets” - health care really is different.

This is why we still have “government interference” in healthcare markets in places like Singapore and New Zealand -the markets just don’t function acceptably without it.


8 posted on 03/25/2017 9:15:37 AM PDT by M. Dodge Thomas
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To: M. Dodge Thomas
Perhaps some middle ground can be found.

Neither 100% government control nor 0% government involvement.

9 posted on 03/25/2017 9:18:06 AM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: M. Dodge Thomas
Do you have any support for your argument? Your statement that "no such system exists...or could" seems to have the kind of certainty often associated with bong based science. How do you know what "could" exist? Did you see it in your crystal ball?

The article you posted proposes a bunch of minor modifications to a very broken system. The author recommends keeping Obamacare, and adjusting some aspects of how care is paid for. Anybody who thinks that is the solution is really just repeating what the hospitals, insurance companies, RINOS and Democrats, and drug companies want to hear.

More likely to be successful solutions to an obviously exploitative system rigged to benefit the providers will by necessity cause major dislocations in the business models of the current participants. How about thinking about real changes?

A lot of us are well informed about the nature of the health care markets, and as an example how the fake prices used by hospitals distort the market and analysis of health care costs. One simple, but radical solution would be to require hospitals to provide any service or product they sell at the same price to every customer, regardless of whether they were an individual cash payer, the government, or a private insurer. That would instantly change the entire market dynamic, as individuals would no longer need an insurance carrier to get them prices that are discounted 80 or 90 percent off the fake "list" prices. And the government could not underpay the hospitals for medicare and medicaid patients thereby forcing the actual costs of that service onto non government paid patients.

13 posted on 03/25/2017 9:55:10 AM PDT by freeandfreezing
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To: M. Dodge Thomas

Move to Cuba.


14 posted on 03/25/2017 10:08:21 AM PDT by Ray76 (DRAIN THE SWAMP)
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