I have no objections to your suggestions. But, I doubt the degree of competition that would ensue, as well as the ability of new insurers to enter the market. As someone pointed out earlier, we "opened" the phone business to competition. The results have been disappointing.
Hmm. Disappointing in what way? The Bell breakup was 25 years ago. No question it drove rates down, and offered customers more choices.
Who would have ever thought that phone calls would be so inexpensive? My company used to incur $4k-$5K worth of toll free expenses per month in the early 90s. Now there would be no need to even have a toll-free number at all, since long distance rates are now so low they include it for free...
More fundamentally, the question of how for-profit corporations are going to provide unprofitable services remains on the table. I don't think they can. I think they have already demonstrated they cannot.
What is the reason they should offer services at a loss? It's not good for the companies or their shareholders or their customers, if they aren't around long enough to continue operating.
If people are making their own decisions, shopping doctors and hospitals like they do when doing other major purchases ('voting with their feet') it will force the health providers to offer better value at a better price, if they want the business.
When I was in the hospital a few years back, I remember looking over the bill and seeing $10 for a single Tylenol pill. It's this kind of nonsense that must end. I have no problem against a health providers making a profit, but the system as it exists today insulates the patient from the purchasing decision. This is akin to the tax withholding system--if people actually had to write out a check for their taxes, instead of having it withheld from a paycheck, they would be MUCH more attuned to how much taxes really are.
So, while the reforms you suggest have merit, they do not solve the real problem and would not bring adequate health care to all, regardless of ability to pay.
How about adding some meat to back up your position.
We should look seriously at the approaches taken by other countries, understanding they are more like us than they are not. We need to understand that, in a democracy, the government expresses the will of the people and is not evil.
Sure, I'm all for looking at other ideas. Having done so shows me our system is in need of an overhaul, but not a takeover. I'm also a realist, not an idealist. I love the idea of no poverty and health care for all, however, history shows that in spite of government's good intentions, social programs consistently do only one thing: take money from hard working Americans and squander it. Good intentions, but incompetence in execution.
I am a firm believer that if an employee fails to do his job, they should be fired. The government has failed to do the job in so many areas -- they too need to be fired. Enough is enough. Starting with 'social security' (an oxymoron if there ever was one) as the supreme example of failure; a bankrupt system. Where are the true leaders who will fix it? There are none. There are only the Gores who want to put it into a 'lock box' because they don't have the balls to admit that it's an utter failure. It's a travesty of huge proportions, that so many millions of people have had their hard-earned money taken and will never see one penny in return.
I see politicians with an jaded view. Politicians who promise to 'lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history' and then proceed to try to ram-rod bills through in the dead of night on a weekend. Doesn't speak very highly of the bill, when they have to resort to such tactics.
I find it extremely alarming when the White House advertises for snitches, and then even starts spamming political messages!
Sorry, it's just hard to trust these people with these kinds of actions. Maybe government is not evil, but one thing is for certain: it's performance is atrocious. I do not trust it. I spend my own money more wisely than any bureaucrat, and will always get more for every dollar spent.
