[ajmurmann]

I used to be for single part until I listened to a recent episode of econtalk (http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/06/christy_ford_ch.htm...). Christy Ford described how the current medical system evolved and how the American Medical Association made the current, insurance based system happen. Before this we used to for example multi-disciplineray offices of doctors that you could directly buy health care coverage from. That was made illegal. What we currently have is the worst of any world. It's a artificially constrained market that's practically devoid of competition. On top of that we have insurance which is clearly the wrong model for something you know you are going to need. And it's employer provided on top of it. How could this market possibly be less functional? Let's try to fix the market before we pour out the baby with the bath water.

[toomuchtodo]

I have to respectfully disagree. It's time to burn down the current system and go straight to single payer.

Collect premiums via payroll taxes->fund healthcare providers. That greatly simplifies it, but there are many other first world models we can pick from. This is not hard.

[vidoc]

> Collect premiums via payroll taxes->fund healthcare providers. That greatly simplifies it, but there are many other first world models we can pick from. This is not hard.

I entirely agree with you on that and your assessment on how the finance/tax part of it is not as scary as some would think, it might even perhaps not be the hardest part of the problem.

My personal belief in single-payer is that it is the only way to create a leverage to either create a public offer of healthcare goods and service, or radically modify the power imbalance and drive the prices of goods and services way down. The thing that worries me is that in both cases, what I understand as being a total healthcare bubble, which I am sure is a well organized lobby, won't exactly be thrilled at letting things happen without a fight :)