Originally Posted by dblack

So would you say no free market can exist for food, for example? What about other "necessities"?


How about just let people decide for themselves how much risk is acceptable, or how much quality they can afford? What we've really done is set up regulatory environment where we decided, for everyone, what the minimum level of quality can be. Problem is, in the process (especially when combined with the cost inflationary pressures we've been discussing) we've priced health care out of reach of a large chunk of the market. It'd be like declaring that the only cars fit for use were Mercedes Benz, and then finding ourselves frustrated because no one can afford a car.


Unacceptable to whom? Telling people that can't have health care services that you deem unsafe is somewhat cruel when their alternative is no health care at all. We've gone a long way to make sure people can't take care of their own health issues, by regulating the drug market and criminalizing home remedies, and now we tell them they can't see a doctor unless they can afford the best.

Not everyone can afford the best. That's just one of the unfortunate aspects of a free market. We can't make that go away by passing laws.