So much for personal responsibility-but in any case, at current prices, it's entirely possible for you and your parents to have been unable to pay. And the important thing is that many who don't buy insurance to "invest in other resources" or whatever you were doing with the cash will not be able to pay-just like uninsured drivers.
A voluntary arrangement for all concerned, personal responsibility at its finest, people taking care of themselves. At current prices it isn't possible for me and mine to be unable to pay. Not in any realistic scenario.
Yup, it was a risk, but it was a risk we took ourselves, willingly. We know that it's impossible to eliminate risk completely, that to try is folly, and that it's smart to choose your risks carefully. Thankfully we had choice, and I benefited from it.
Anyway, enough of that stupid argument. You seem to be obsessed with efficiency, so let's talk about that.
Read Archie's post. It strikes to the heart of the matter with regard to costs and efficiencies. Whenever you remove the incentives to economize, costs naturally tend to rise. The way to reduce costs is to strengthen the incentives to economize, not weaken them. Once again, we're back to basic economics.
Government health care would eliminate those incentives completely. People have zero, zilch, nada incentive to use less care when someone else is paying for it. Rationing is the inevitable result. Whether it comes in the form of direct usage limits, or in the form of price controls, or in the form of reduced quality of care, it all amounts to the same thing.
At least under the current system of private insurance, the piper must always be paid in the form of premiums. Insurers and people buying insurance must agree to a mutually beneficial balance between the cost of premiums and the sorts of medical costs the insurer will cover. People now have the option of buying the coverage that best suits their unique needs and circumstances. Or like me, they can do without when that's best.
The best way to reduce costs would be to increase patients' incentive to economize. Give the patient a range of treatment options, and let him decide which is the best blend of cost and benefit for himself. Make sure the patient receives the economic benefit from choosing a less expensive option. Doctors and patients will naturally turn to less expensive alternatives whenever they exist.
That is the road to maximum efficiency and reduced costs. Obviously it's too much of a market-based solution, so you'll never go for it.
