Originally posted by normbenign
How about a middle ground where people make free choices in a market overseen by government to prevent force and fraud?
you keep going on and on how healthcare should be treated like any other market. it is not like any other market. this isn't a product that you can refuse.
if i am unsatisfied with the quality and price of my fast food, i stop going to mcdonalds. if wendy's, taco bell and burger king join mcdonalds in offering almost equal levels of quality and price, i stop eating fast food. as such, in time, the price will go down and/or quality up in order to regain clients.
healthcare is not a product like fast food. if all offer mostly the same product at the same price, i can't refuse to buy it, or i may die.
that's where "force" comes in. the insurance companies "forced" you to buy their product because the government didn't intervene.
"fraud" was when paying customers were denied service based on internal insurance companies' rules, rules created without anyone regulating and overseeing.
the rape victim who had to pay for the ambulance ride because she was unconscious and couldn't say who her provider is.
the child who entered a hospital with 40 degrees fever and was sent to another hospital even though she was covered (she died)
the cancer patient that must pay extra to treat his cancer because he has sleep apneea, even though that pre-existent condition would have nothing to do with anything except sleep apneea treatments.
you had force and fraud with insurance companies, you agree the government should step in and oversee, which is exactly what ACA does.