The reason they don’t work, the reason all socialism in medicine fails, is that the consumer is isolated from the entity responsible for the consumer’s expenses. So, as the consumer, why not use the maximum amount possible? As the provider, why not bill the maximum possible? (Doctors send staff to special training to maximize billing.)
Two types of medicine have gotten better and cheaper since their introduction. Lasik surgery and cosmetic surgery. This is because the consumer actually pays for them. Providers have incentive to reduce prices and increase quality to attract customers. My, what a concept.
Yup, get gov out of the market. Folks seem to appreciate separation of church and state, but need to be educated on separation of economy and state - which is basically capitalism in a nutshell.
Worried about the poor? There’s this thing called charity...
Prior to the depression, benevolent societies were the norm and took care of folks locally. That fell apart in the depression and the gov rightly stepped in. Problem is, it never stepped out!
Non-elective medical treatment for illnesses that have to be treated, (a wide spectrum of illnesses - hospitalization for pneumonia, a ‘heart attack’, trauma, heart failure, cancer, etc. etc.) don't allow for the usual price haggling that one uses when buying a car etc. The hospitals/physicians can't refuse an emergent patient who won't pay them, and a patient with a non-elective urgent medical problem can't avoid treatment because the price isn't right (not without significant personal harm).
It's a dilemma, but I agree that there are lots of ways to introduce market principles into the system and drive down costs.