[mdnahas]

I read a good book that says the US has many socialized medical systems. Medicare for the old is similar to Canada’s system. VA for veterans is similar to England’s system. Most salaried workers insurance is similar to Germany’s system, except the German insurers are all non-profits. (In the US, the insurers were all non-profits back in the 1970s.)

I started in tech, but went back and got an econ degree. A market for insurance works well for unpredictable things, like broken legs. But it doesn’t work well if some can predict their need, like life-long conditions. So, there is a role for non-market solutions. At that point, you need to address how to keep patients from consuming “too much” healthcare, because they’re not paying the full cost.

Many countries spend less and have longer lives. But it is hard to get the US to implement one of those systems when healthcare companies spend more than $1 million per member of Congress on lobbying and campaign donations.