[zarro]

I'm not sure that the European version of outsourcing that responsibility to the government is the way to go for the same reason.

Letting people set up private companies with competitive options I think would probably drive the best results.

[ljf]

That has been shown to work well where? And by well I mean for the customer not for the business/insurer.

[bjourne]

That's how it used to be in many European countries. Insurance is an old concept that predates the modern nation state. Problem is that in an unregulated market, private will not keep a big enough buffer to avoid ruination because that hurts profits. In the 19th century a lot of upper class people had such insurances for their businesses which turned out to be worthless because when disaster struck they found that the money wasn't there. Gradually such worthless insurance funds were nationalized and became the foundations of many European welfare systems.

[mankyd]

Isn't that what American health insurance companies are?

[Someone1234]

Kinda yes. But it isn't competitive when you cannot even pick your own health insurance company nor see prices for medical care (or see what is in/out of network).

Splitting employers from health insurance is one of several required changes that needs to happen before the supposed hand of capitalism can allow the market to get healthier.

I have no idea if it would work, but the status quo is so unhealthy at the very least improvement competition/choice could improve that somewhat.

[mankyd]

>But it isn't competitive when you cannot even pick your own health insurance company

There's plenty of employers that don't offer healthcare, and you are not obligated to take it if your employer does offer it. You can always buy your own health insurance.

[Someone1234]

And pay substantially more for the same product. The individual insurance marketplace isn't competitive, plus you're also giving the federal government a free loan (since employer insurance is pre-tax dollars, individual plans get a refund after the tax return).

[mrlala]

>Letting people set up private companies with competitive options I think would probably drive the best results.

Hello, please call

* 910 if you think your fire is not urgent, and can wait 10 minutes to come for free

* 911 if you think your fire is getting hotter, and can only way 5 minutes to come for $500

* 912 if you would like the fire department to come as soon as they possible can, and skip the queue of 910 callers for $10000

[mhb]

Are you suggesting that there are not places with private fire companies/insurance who will only put out your fire if you are a subscriber?

[pastor_williams]

They'll also put out your fire if it looks likely to spread to a subscriber's property.

[pastor_williams]

The private firefighter industry: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/736715592/the-private-firefig...

[throwaway2048]

Why?