Quote:1.) Where do you get healthcare as a fundamental purpose of government from?

 

2.) Health care in the US wasn't working under free market conditions before the ACA at all!

- It was government regulation that prevented individuals from purchasing better and more cost effective plans across state borders.

- It was government regulation that required plans offered by insurance companies to offer services that bloated the cost of premiums.

- It was government regulation that drives up the cost of prescriptions and pharmaceuticals though testing and taxiation

 

in almost every way possible government interference caused the mess we where in. Insurance companies make money one way, convincing individuals to purchase their "coverage" the more they insure the more they make. It's also in their interest to keep cost of medical services at a minimum, meaning they would work to ensure doctors and hospitals wouldn't over charge for services provided. You removed the incentive for insurance companies to attract large amounts of people when you make it mandatory everyone has to purchase said product. You removed the incentive for insurance companies to drive down cost when they're compensated by government agencies like Medicaid.

Are you really suggesting that testing new medicines to ensure they don't cause more harm than good is a bad thing?

 

As for the last part; that's why regulation needs to be comprehensive and thorough when it is applied. Like you said, it's not enough to simply make insurance mandatory because the insurance companies will simply hike up prices because they know you have to purchase their plans. So in addition to this the regulation also needs to include rules as to what is covered in the basic plans and how much insurers can charge for these plans. Anything outside of the plans is allowed to be in the free market where insurers can compete with minimal government interference.

 

This basically the Dutch system; a base package which is heavily regulated and an upper segment which is essentially free market. But we use another level which is the risk based pool which actually rewards insurance companies for signing on high risk individuals, as a result people with chronic illnesses who need insurance the most and are normally shunned by insurers are now coveted by those same insurers. And since this whole system is more effective than the US in almost every measurable statistic I'd say it's vastly better.

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