The typical American probably spends way more on automobiles in the course of his life than he does on healthcare. Would it be a good idea to have the government provide "free" automobiles to each American, so as to bring down the cost and guarantee that everyone has a car?
Our insurance-based system has a lot of flaws, but it is not as bad for the poor as it is depicted. If Bill Gates and a bum were involved in the same automobile accident, they would both be medevac'd to the nearest trauma center, they would both get the same life-saving attention. Gates' money would only come into play after his condition had stablilized. He would be able to afford to move to a world-class hospital and pay for optional surgery and better rehab than the bum, but then again he would pay for it. The bum has little to complain about as his life was saved by highly-skilled medical workers, and it cost him nothing. There are many countries with "free" healthcare for all where they both may have died before reaching a hospital.
Where the system fails is for people with no insurance and high medical needs. I think the insurance-based system could cover those people if the rest of us accepted high annual deductables and paid for our own basic healthcare bills. It's an incredible waste to have insurance pay for a check-up, or a dental cleaning, or a prescription for allergy medication, or even a broken wrist. If we pay for these ourselves we can enjoy the best medical system in the world and still cover those who can't pay their own way.
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