Wow, I sure got slammed for what I thought was a self-evident comment. I'll give one true example why I believe this. I was injured and the doctor said I neede

Wow, I sure got slammed for what I thought was a self-evident comment. I'll give one true example why I believe this. I was injured and the doctor said I needed an MRI and prescription pain meds. I said, doctor, I don't have insurance. He said, in that case, you can have an X-ray and Tylenol. This is true for Medicare and private insurance. Think about it. You buy a car based on how much you can afford. If I offered to buy you any car you wanted regardless of price, you would pay much more for a car than if you yourself had to pay. If this were true for everyone, auto dealers would no longer have to compete on price, but would instead would compete on giving the best service, raising costs even further. Historically, health care costs began to greatly rise when the federal government made it a tax deduction for employee health insurance. This pushed everyone into private insurance. Costs have spiraled ever since. The solution (as proposed by both candidate McCain and candidate Romney) is to shift the tax deduction to the individual for medical costs. This allows people to afford health care, but also introduces competitive market forces (from a first-party payer) into the equation.