Lots of talk about health care these days. Large numbers of the US population hate the new laws relating to health care. Others think the new laws are too little and not comprehensive enough. What both "sides" do not seem to understand is that we already have a hybrid system.
Medicaid/medicare/CHIP/etc. already make it a non-free market system. Prices are set and this affects everything-how much private pay is charged, how much insurances are charged, etc. Do not think for a second we have a free market. Additionally the US policies of the mid 20th century led to employer based insurance. Not a free insurance market. I pretty much "have to" buy my employers choices. These choices are based on what is financially best first for an insurance company and secondly what is best for the company/employer. The least and last consideration is often the one who buys the policy-even when the employer "pays" the insurance, they do it in exchange for your employment. So free market is not even close to describing our system. Its partial government mandates combined with government restraint.
So do we have a true "one payer system"? Of course not-there is money to be made-and not on delivering health care-but in administration and denial as such. Obviously many are denied care/coverage for treatable diseases and injury. Also many receive therapy that has no basis in medical literature or poor underlying information or outright quackery.
I am not sure what will be the best system. I am sure that this hybrid monster is not the best solution. A true free market system would be politically impossible. Complete one payer system in the US would be worse than Canada and the UK by several orders of magnitude for reasons that I do not want to get into now but primarily have to do with our lifestyle choices and our lack of accountability or responsibility. Answer-more flailing-and keep everybody unhappy.
