Ann Coulter - libertarian? - "There shall be a free market in health insurance."

[Shawn K. Quinn]

On 03/02/2017 12:46 PM, #$%& wrote:
> On Thu, 2 Mar 2017 00:43:48 -0600
> "Shawn K. Quinn" <skquinn at rushpost.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>>
>> The "free market" is what is wrong with "health care" in the US.
>> For-profit hospitals have to make money, so they charge outrageous
>> prices. 
> 
> 	The guy selling hotdogs in the street has to make money too. He
> 	doesn't charge outrageous prices*. OOPS - quinn doesn't have a
> 	fucking clue. Who would have thought it? 

$500+ for six ounces of saline solution is outrageous by any reasonable
standard. Compared to that, even $10 for a six-inch hotdog in some
places might not be too bad of a deal, though personally I'm unlikely to
pay more than about $5-6 on an actual street corner. (Sidenote: On my
last visit to James Coney Island here in Houston, two Texas style hot
dogs and a large Coke came out to $10.79, which I don't consider
outrageous in the least.)

The difference, though, is you usually can compare prices of hot dog
street vendors before deciding where to have your lunch. If you have a
heart attack, there's no shopping around for the cheapest ER. This is
where the "free market" fails; under a "free market" that heart attack
could easily bankrupt you if you are a self-pay customer.

I believe medical care is a human right. We've failed at that in the US
because even though there exists a nominal public-funded health care
system, it's vastly lower quality compared to what even moderately
well-off people get.

-- 
Shawn K. Quinn <skquinn at rushpost.com>
http://www.rantroulette.com
http://www.skqrecordquest.com

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 819 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://lists.cpunks.org/pipermail/cypherpunks/attachments/20170302/6705e2e9/attachment.sig>