No, blame IP law. Patents were intended to increase innovation and competition, but lobbyists have been able to extend IP protections to make a killing. Few can

No, blame IP law. Patents were intended to increase innovation and competition, but lobbyists have been able to extend IP protections to make a killing. Few candidates from either major party seriously promote patent reform. We could socialize the cost of medication, but that doesn't solve the underlying problem of high pharmaceutical costs. I suppose you could argue that government would force prices down, but we got into this position from lobbyists, so why would government all of a sudden stop listening to lobbyists once they have captive insurance customers? I think the best approach is to table universal healthcare for now (Republicans won't budge and Democrats have utterly failed) and focus on fixing patents and other things that result in high healthcare prices. Once the underlying problems have been resolved, we can revisit universal healthcare if it's still important. I'd much rather see us go the UBI route where people choose their own benefits than having government try to decide what minimum benefits everyone needs.