> If insurance weren't ubiquitous, service would be cheaper, sure. It would also be cheaper if it were truly ubiquitous and single-payer. The prices European h

> If insurance weren't ubiquitous, service would be cheaper, sure. It would also be cheaper if it were truly ubiquitous and single-payer. The prices European hospitals (even the private ones) charge to the various national health systems are a fraction of the list price for the same procedure at the average American hospital. It's only the current insurance system in America that creates perverse incentives to inflate list prices to the ridiculous levels we're accustomed with.