[arcticbull]

'A key feature of free markets is the absence of coerced (forced) transactions or conditions on transactions.' [1] Healthcare is not such a market. If you have a stab wound and you're bleeding out, there's no supply and demand, there's no ability for you to have market participants compete for your business. It's 'pay me or die.' Ditto substantially any major medical issue. This is, in my opinion a coerced transaction, and therefore, not a free market.

This is true of prisons (you can't exactly have private prisons compete for your business). Of fire departments (I'm not going to call for quotes while my house burns down). Of police departments.

If it's not a free market, it should be socialized, imo.

[1] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/freemarket.asp

[tomp]

I’m a huge advocate for private (non-socialized) healthcare.

People always twist this into “you’d have to pay so much more for healthcare”.

No! I never had to pay anything substantial for healthcare. I pay for insurance. But I prefer private insurance (to improve competition, performance, quality, accessibility, …)