ACA Repeal/Replace: Progressives Face Moral Dilemma

[The Wonkette]

(01-17-2017, 02:51 AM)Warren Dew Wrote: In an ideal world, the government - or the federal government, at least - would just get out of medical care entirely, limiting its role to safety regulations.

The big problem with our present system is the economic distortion introduced when the beneficiary of a product is different from the payer of the product.  That's a recipe for overconsumption and overcharging - or at least overpricing - and is what causes health care expenses to keep going up and up.  And we have that distortion both with government provided medicare and with employer provided health insurance, which together include the vast majority of the market.

What that means is that we spend too much on medical care, and that takes away from the money we could be spending for things like a higher quality diet that would be a more cost effective path to good health.

Return the money and control to the people, and we'll see a more rational health care system and better health.  And yes, people will likely start paying for doctors' visits and drugs out of pocket and medical insurance will likely be limited to relatively inexpensive policies that only cover catastrophic needs.

How do you handle the affordability issue? Most Americans don't have a couple grand lying around that they can use to procure routine preventive care such as colonoscopies or managing chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma, common medical emergencies such as broken legs or pregnancy. (I'm assuming that the catastrophic coverage would cover things such as heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and postnatal care for preemies.) And do you really want people having to pay out of pocket for public good items like vaccinations?