Originally Posted by Uncle Mxy
For regular peeps, it's not "their health care". You don't really have true ownership of your health care as it is. It's tied to employers and guv'mint. Even if self-employed and self-insured (a lot of self-employed folks are on their spouse's insurance), you're typically leasing a service that, in the event of a medical problem, is a crap shoot on a number of fronts. The actual cost control that is a big part of "why buy health insurance" is failing -- medical bankruptcies (for people are employers) are common, raises in premiums are common, and most other parts of the world spend half of what we do for equal or better outcomes. Government is indeed part of the process on all fronts, but even on those fronts where it can impose cost control, it's failing (e.g. the rise in doctors not accepting Medicare). Where it can't impose cost controls, the results are comical (drugs made in the U.S. bought from Canada because they're cheaper, even with today's USD-CAD exchange rates). Anyone arguing that the system isn't broken is simply lucky enough to never have dealt with it, or myopic enough not to take a look at what's staring them in the face.
There's no perfect solution, of course, but there certainly can be better processes. Sitting around and doing nothing isn't doing anyone any favors apart from the healthcare companies, who are making out like bandits due to fearful customers. It must be nice having a racket where your customers make all sorts of huge pricey choices on care when they're down and|or in a rush and you have 'em over a barrel.
If you want to see what owning your medical care in the U.S. looks like, check out cosmetic plastic surgeons, IVF clinics, etc. -- optional medicine that doesn't generally take insurance. Note those physicians actually list the COST of their procedures, and advertise their outcomes. Note that there's less incentive to nickel and dime on every little thing, how unlikely it is that you'll get a bill from 4 gazillion different places for one procedure or visit.
If the government sucks at everything it does, why don't more people vote to simply fire the entire government? Do you vote exclusively for people whose platform is "disband the government"? Most end up voting for big government with the only real difference between party D and party R being the shuffling of deck chairs. Libertarianism amounts to a niche when push comes to shove. Government that helps me is good, government that helps others is bad.
