re: #889 harpsicon

There are lots of ways, as has been pointed out here at length. But the basic problem is cost - things cost too much because most customers have no reason to even ask the cost.

I do. I have a catastrophic policy for a family of four, which costs less than half of what a lot of people pay (or cost their employers). So I ask. It’s like a high deductible policy for anything else. And you’d be amazed at how little you can pay for most of your care - all the while being covered for the big stuff. A la Whole Foods - this is to me obviously the way to go.

And of course the lottery system of justice from some juries doesn’t help - if there has to be public involvement in health care, let’s start with an expert panel that can judge medical malpractice reasonably, and get lawyers out of the picture ENTIRELY.

An MRI machine should cost what a good computer costs, and would have gone down in price similarly were there a free and open market in such devices. And since it can be run by a trained technician, you should be able to get a $4 scan at WalMart along with your $4 perscription.

In any event, to go from the need to cover 5-10% of the population to a Washington takeover of 16% of the economy is a pretty wild leap of logic or maybe faith.

And your nonsense about throwing people into the streets is so old… Please - I lived in NYC when welfare reform passed, and we were warned that pretty soon a million people would be starving in the streets. Turned out most people had several sources of income, and the event came and went with hardly a ripple. A few people had to work a little harder, but under Giuliani the economy was awesome.

If people have to pay for their care, the costs will come down. It should be like auto insurance - you don’t use it for an oil change, you just pay. Only for the big stuff; that saves a ton of overhead right off the bat. And you won’t have to wait 18 weeks for that MRI, as is the par in the UK.

Cost is the big issue, and Obama doesn’t address it in the least.

PS I do like the People’s Republic of Austin, myself…

But if the cost of health care is being driven by private insurance companies who are trying to maximize profits, capture market share, and maximize shareholder value (Capitalism!), where does that leave the poor shlub trying to find affordable health care? By definition, it *must* be costly, yes?