but the public option is socialism GASP!! & those death panels. Meanwhile, southern tea-party states have for-profit hospitals actually rationing care because o

but the public option is socialism GASP!! & those death panels. Meanwhile, southern tea-party states have for-profit hospitals actually rationing care because of politically motivated dumb-ass-idness. I do get your point in seeing regulations and other healthcare BS as racketeering stifling competition. There isn't much choice right now. Make the wrong choice, e.g. which emergency room, you might have to wrestle with unimaginably huge mystery bills. Again perhaps that's the racketeering you bring up. But to me, it seems like markets - if we have to concede that language - as huge as nationwide healthcare create way too big of $ barriers for upstarts to try and come in and compete even if we had very low bureaucracy. I personally think a nationalized system is the best solution and I think we can come up with some hybrid Americanizations that introduce more competition within the system. If the proposed reconciliation passes it gets us closer. just keep expanding medicare/aide until everyone is covered. And they are trying to allow drug price negotiation e.g. competition - which is insane that's not legal right now. Baby steps. But IMHO adding to the albatross costs way more than doing the hard thing of a near complete new system.