ORIGINAL: Frumious

Also no arguments about some government culpability. It’s great to be able to say all are covered under Medicare/Medicaid & watch these same people being dropped by physicians, etc because they can’t afford to treat them because the government keeps cutting reimbursements in order to keep everything “affordable” forcing Hospitals to make up the difference through the private insurance of their other patients. I’ve decided that my mortgage is too high for me to afford, and my energy bill too so I’m informing them that as of next month I will now pay $0.33 for every $1 charged to me; they can make up my difference by charging the other customers the difference.

Time to get real. No more Ponzi schemes, no more games.

 
Agree with much of this.
 
I wonder if a system simlar to that used in car insurance would work…Bascially, everyone has to be covered, those who are poor risks or cannot afford it are placed into a lottery and the company that gets them has to cover them with premiums subsidized by goverment funds. You still have competition between carriers, gov oversite (as they would set the benefit levels and conditions for inclusion), and retain free will for practitioners.
 
Another model is the one used in Tenn where there is universal healthcare but only for those who cannot afford it or have been rejected for coverage.  You have to provide proof of either (by tax return or rejection letters), and it is limited to just those people. The providers are run just like an HMO.  This system makes sense to me as the help goes to the people who need it while retaining insurance competition etc.