3 ms·
>That's not a healthy private health insurance market; that's an opaque, balkanized system. "Healthy private health insurance market" sounds to me like an oxym
by myegorov 9y ago
>That's not a healthy private health insurance market; that's an opaque, balkanized system.
"Healthy private health insurance market" sounds to me like an oxymoron. I certainly haven't heard of one. There should be no market for health insurance, or organ trade, or public transportation, or water supply/sanitation. These are costly (in a deregulated economy like in the US) and require heavy subsidies, not a for-profit race to the bottom.
- alasdair_ 9y agoThe UK has a national health service that is excellent and yet some people are happy to pay for additional health insurance to cover non-essential and service-related things. Want gourmet meals and a playstation in your room? That is a perfectly fine use of "extra" health insurance. Everyone had a right to free primary and secondary school education yet some people opt for private schools - this too is okay.
- myegorov 9y agoIt is understood that there will be those who buy bottled water where public utilities provide clean drinking water for all. Roughly 10% of the UK population are contributing to private health plans (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/16/private-medical-insurance-sales-surge-health-nhs https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/16/private-med...). Apparently, the % of population fully covered by such plans is lower still (at under 1%). While this is a huge waste, this is not what I was alluding to. I have no argument to make if everyone in the US had access to health care comparable to that provided by the NHS.