>Healthcare is a scarce resource like anything else. There is
>a finite number of doctor-hours, drugs, supplies, etc.
>Price is typically the mechanism used to allocate scarce
>resources.

So let's increase the number of physicians and clinics and hospitals. You know how you do that?? Did you say "free hand of the market??" - NO- just have the government FUND it.

Did you know they already do that - for the military? Medical Students can join the armed services and have the cost of their training completely paid for by the government. In return they commit to a number of years of services (1 year for each year the are in school) - service that pays pretty well, has a signing bonus and provides medical care to them.

Plus you get paid like 2K a month to go to school.

We could expand that program to train non-military physicians up pretty quickly. they do this is many, many other countries.



>If there is no price, then people have no incentive to not
>over-consume.

Yeah, people TOTALLY want that - I need more operations please. And you can put in rules to prevent abuse without 'rationing it." You only get 1 cancer treatment a year - then you have to wait.


>Like dude said, when you don't have to even think about price
>you have no concerns at all about seeing a medical provider.
>So every concern you have will be check out. Even unnecessary
>things. You'll be going to the dermatologist to get a benign,
>but unsightly, discoloration taken care of. You will go to the
>doctor when you have a simple cold.

Yes, why shouldn't you go when you have a cold? Doesn't NEED to be a physician - could be a clinic near your house and have a nurse or nurse practitioner triage you and go from there. It's not exactly brain surgery.


>There has to be something that makes people have skin in the
>game, which is what co-pays and deductibles do. If there is no
>cost sharing, then there has to be rationing. And I think that
>would be much much worse

There's the binary thinking - think of it as a sliding scale. And you pay by paying taxes. Rich people (or just plain jackasses) get butthurt because an unemployed person gets medical care? Boo-hoo.

there is rationing now - you don't have any money you don't get help. Is that what Jesus/Allah/who-ever-the-fuck-you-pray-to would want??

And WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR HEALTH?? Isn't this exactly why we have a government? Or is it just to build walls, or make sure gays don't have as many rights??

Seriously - why isn't this seen as a service of the government?

I suggest it's because the American myth of "rugged individuation" and "manifest destiny.