re: #228 Megawatt

Rationed healthcare where the govt has the perogative to decide who gets treatment and who gets complimentary painkillers is no different than private insurance companies denying people healthcare coverage.

There is always going to be rationing in some form or another, whether we have a pure Ayn Rand free market system of health insurance, or a complete government system, or anywhere along the spectrum in between. The question is how best to reduce waste, needless cost, and minimize the number of people who are denied care. In the current system there is such gargantuan waste necessitated by the insurance company profit motive. Pure free market capitalism works for a lot of thing but just does not work for health insurance. When a health insurance company CEO expands his mansion or adds a pool to his yacht or gold plates his toilet, do you ever ask who with a treatable illness had his claim denied and had to die, to allow this sort of luxury? People are too often denied care even when they have insurance due to this ruthless system. I think a strong private option, a choice to get insurance from a system without a will do no harm. It will provide balance, a motivation for the insurance companies to be more reasonable in what they charge and what they provide.