Universal healthcare

Well done. You illuminated many aspects of the problem we face. The problem with liberal policies is that they create injustices that can only be redressed with more liberal policies. Unfortunately affordable healthcare went out the window when our government decided that its citizens were entitled only to the highest standard of healthcare. Therein lies the problem. Healthcare has been put on a pedestal in this country. Even though a majority of medical services could be adequately provided by facilities and individuals who have far less invested than say doctors and hospitals, our government has told us that we are not free to seek such services. Licensing, medical degrees, board certifications, malpractice insurance, and various other requirements have made it so only the best (and most expensive) medical services are available to the consumer. Many would consider it absurd if the government required that all citizens drive only expensive German imports, even if for our own protection. Luckily we maintain the right to purchase lower quality vehicles we deem less safe but more affordable. And even if we did opt for the more expensive German import, there's nothing stopping us from having it serviced by a common mechanic rather than by a more expensive certified dealer technician. The healthcare industry is yet another example of a well-meaning government stepping in to take power away from the individual for his own protection. The result is almost always counter-intuitive. The solution lies in reversing the liberal big-government policies that got us into this mess in the first place. To do this we need less government involvement in the healthcare system, and we need to allow for low-cost medical care to compete with high-cost medical care. Much of the overhead involved in providing healthcare makes affordability simply impossible. I submit that most of the overhead required to do business in the healthcare industry is cause by government regulation, malpractice insurance and licensing requirements. I attribute sky-high malpractice insurance costs to government as well, because is has not pursued effective tort reform and continues to provide a lawsuit-friendly civil justice system-- again in the interest of "protecting" its citizens. Finally, we require healthcare facilities to provide services for all who seek them, whether they are able to pay or not. This is another liberal idea that can be sustained only by enacting more liberal ideas. I could see if free services were limited to life-and-death situations. But even this idea, despite its acceptance, forces otherwise free individuals to give their time, money and resources to strangers who offer no means of repayment. Upon minor examination this seemingly harmless concept sounds a bit ludicrous. Unfortunately, as liberalism spreads, ludicrous ideas become common place. Eventually society sees them as irreversible facts of life. Because of this effect, the variety of perceived solutions becomes severely limited. I sense this desperate frustration in your 2nd round argument. In your eyes liberalism is the only answer, and the sooner we get to it the better. Your mindset demonstrates that you have accepted the current situation as hopeless and irreversable. But if you are able to identify the major cause of the problem(government policies that have insulated the healthcare industry from the free market), you will find there is an alternative solution you have not considered. It involves freeing the healthcare industry from the big-government regulations that bind it. It is the job of capitalism to uncover the needs of citizens and find affordable and profitable ways to meet them. Complete government control is no way to combat problems cause by excessive government control.