[mgkimsal]

"The government hasn't been able to run anything efficiently as long as I've been alive."

I'm not so sure private insurance companies and hospitals are all that "efficient" either, but define "efficient" first. Private insurance companies are motivated by making a profit, and the easiest way to do that is to take in money, but pay out as little as possible.

There's very little competition in insurance, as 'the market' is primarily larger employers, so insurance companies by and large cater towards the needs of their biggest customers.

We need to get rid of employer-provided health care benefits, and focus on getting people to buy it directly themselves. This will bring more market forces to bear, getting more companies to compete for our business, not the employers', and perhaps we can then talk about 'efficiency' and having that be something positive for end recipients of health care.

[tdfx]

> We need to get rid of employer-provided health care benefits, and focus on getting people to buy it directly themselves.

This. People are given these ridiculously expansive health care plans and most of the premium is picked up by their company or is deducted before they ever notice it. If people have to buy it themselves, they're going to choose higher deductible plans to get lower premiums. With higher deductible plans, they will want to see what their money is paying for and demand price transparency (which is sorely lacking in the US health care market). Allow companies to operate without stifling state interference and this will be a whole new market, one that actually responds to the forces of supply and demand (as opposed to the clusterfuck we deal with now).