"We" don't necessarily think benefits should be provided by the whims of private businesses.
as opposed to the government because that means higher taxes.
The assumption here being that benefits from the government are paid with higher taxes, and benefits from employers being paid from the kindness of the CEO's heart and not from wages that would have otherwise been paid you.
I want the money that my employer pays into health insurance to be paid to me into an HSA like tax sheltering of healthcare funds, and then I want no health insurance middleman. Poof---there goes all the corrupt incentives and ridiculous administrative overhead.
That is literally impossible. Even if insurance companies are made illegal tomorrow, that role of market maker between providers (doctors and hospitals, drug companies) and customers (patients, employers) will always exist. This is because such a role is needed.
Patients do not have the capacity nor the knowledge to find the best doctor, the best hospital, or the best drug maker for them.
Health insurance was invented in the late 1930s as a political ploy to forestall government health programs. Did patients all get stupid at that time, or was it the case that they were all going to the wrong doctors and hospitals before then?
Please give human beings a little credit. We make decisions every day, some of which are a lot more substantial than which state-licensed physician to hire.
Okay, but I didn't mean literally outlaw insurance middlemen.
I mean fix the incentive structure such that I have the option to forego insurance middlemen.
> Patients do not have the capacity nor the knowledge
I completely disagree, and what business of yours or anyone's is it to say I'm `lacking in capacity and knowledge` to such a degree I shouldn't be allowed to make my own healthcare decisions!?
Worse still, right now the US government puts a cap on the percentage of profit an insurance company can take from premiums which coupled with the current near monopolistic healthcare insurance system incentivizes paying as much as possible for treatment to justify higher premiums.
"We" don't necessarily think benefits should be provided by the whims of private businesses.
as opposed to the government because that means higher taxes.
The assumption here being that benefits from the government are paid with higher taxes, and benefits from employers being paid from the kindness of the CEO's heart and not from wages that would have otherwise been paid you.