I'm a Bernie supporter.. and like the single-payer idea... but if that can't get passed--how about we get rid of Insurers--and make HOSPITALS provide insurance.

I'm a Bernie supporter.. and like the single-payer idea... but if that can't get passed--how about we get rid of Insurers--and make HOSPITALS provide insurance. You pay your local hospital $x per month based on income... something like 4-6% of your income if you earn > $30k. The hospital might get some gov't subsidies based on # of insured patients it carries. When you travel your hospital covers the bills at other hospitals. Since each hospital = insurer they will work/negotiate with other hospitals for faired deals than they would w/ insurance companies. This also will do away with some of the billing requirements and could streamline that process a bit. A good startup might be creating the billing systems that manage all of this, and centralizes everything between different hospitals. No HMOs, Networks, etc... Hospitals could choose what extras they might cover like infertility/etc... as a bonus so patients might pick a different local hospital that has better coverage.. The boon for the hospital: Monthly recurring income from all it's patients - past, present, and future.