The US conducted the experiment to limit insurance companies' profits. A component of the ACA (Obamacare) was the 80/20 rule, where at least 80% of all premiums

The US conducted the experiment to limit insurance companies' profits. A component of the ACA (Obamacare) was the 80/20 rule, where at least 80% of all premiums collected by health ins. companies had to be paid out for care. That was a failure. In the 10 years or so since that rule, premiums have increased dramatically. Your reply is well-stated. There isn't one single 'bad guy' in the US system; it's more a function of a bunch of little factors that nobody wants to change: the US has the best, highly trained doctors (expensive), best equipment/hospitals (expensive), subsidizes much of the drug development for the rest of the world (for better or worse), and a weird public/private system where the private insurers make up for lower payments from public insurance like Medicaid/Medicare. In talking with a number of physicians, my biggest concern is that they're starting to feel like most of the 'reforms' and changes the US is making are impacting them the most. None of my physician friends recommend their children go into the profession, and many are leaving poorly-run hospital systems to focus on boutique, private practice (catering to the rich.) We have a huge healthcare provider shortage coming, and I'm terrified the system is straining hard as I get older and will need to start relying on it.