[bdzr]

It's really not, it's a frankenstein of a system with capitalist and socialist traits. If it were capitalism run amok, a consumer would be able to figure out the price of something as though it were a cup of coffee. Pricing is completely opaque and provides nearly zero demand for providers to compete.

[alistairSH]

It's not socialist (Medicaid/Medicare notwithstanding). But, it's definitely not "ECON-101 free-market capitalism" either. Lots of regulatory capture from both medical and insurance providers. Plus a bunch of self-inflicted dysfunction because we keep electing ding-dongs into Congress.