What do malpractice stressed MD's an screwed patients, veteran's waiting too long for medical care, the recent Hobby Lobby case and much of the emerging problem with people's info differing form officlal record in sign ups have in common? They are the result of our not adopting Single payer. Way too many decisions are made in a state of medical payment stress. if you do not sue, you will be stuck with the bill. If you work for a conservative Christian, you might have to fork over considerable moneys men do not spend on birth control. If you are a veteran, you are pissed you are thrown into the tender mercies of any part of the US health care ( non) system. All these are a result of medical care not bein g a right. So me say the government cannot do anything right. It is hard to have a worse pattern of failure than the for profit insurance market, which kills people ( due to lack of funding for care) as a matter of functioning properly. Medicaid is surprisingly efficient in percent of moneys spent on administration versus how much on patient care. Medical care payment is the place where the private market fails.
Dr Krugman gives a good example as to why the market fails with health care funding. Insurance companies ( Insco's) are not competing on who can provide better service at a better price. They are competing as to who can have more clients paying and not filing large claims and who can kick off anyone who is going to need long term, expensive care. Just because they are tasked with doing the public good experience with Medicare D shows that for profit Insco's do not stop being for profit insurances companies dedicated to making a profit. this is incompatible with public health We would solve so many problems if Americans were willing to learn form other countries as they have learned form us. Unfortunately we are becoming more xenophobic and less willing to look at the experiences of other countries. Stupid Americans.