until I found out that the people who the NY Times says are really in favor of it are Bill O’Reilly and Regina Herzlinger…
Actually I’m kidding. I knew Regi says she likes it, and Maggie Mahar ripped her position—(Herzlinger’s position being that she espouses a version of the Swiss system for the US)—to shreds a while back. But would Herzlinger really want to live in a world where there was no easy money to be made trading in the stock of health insurers who are defrauding state governments? But I’ve got to say that Herzlinger and O’Reilly make a interesting couple.…pass the falafel.
The Swiss system works because of several factors:
- everyone is required to buy insurance (subsidies for low income people)
- no one can be refused insurance
- insurance companies can’t make a profit on the ‘basic’ plans (government must approve rates annually)
- STRONG government regulation of services, prices, and utilization.
In the US, the insurance companies would game the political system that regulates them and we would be back to where we are now.
Matt
You are a riot! Very creative writing!
Rick Lippin