I see this argument a lot. The trouble is that emergency care isn't what drives the majority of healthcare spend. What does is actually chronic conditions: dia

I see this argument a lot. The trouble is that emergency care isn't what drives the majority of healthcare spend. What does is actually chronic conditions: dialysis, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, chronic weight conditions. That's what we need to worry about. And if there was a real market here, you wouldn't need to shop around because all the people that do, would enforce some level of price discipline on the market. Think about it. For any good sold at, say, Wal-Mart, say Gatorade, there are some people that want it a LOT, even NEED it, while others are more on the fence. There's only one price on the shelf and it's calculated to get a lot of people buying. So in effect, the people who are more indifferent (want it less) are actually doing a pretty significant service to the people who want it a lot, by guaranteeing the price will be set low for everyone. There's no reason something like this can't apply in healthcare.