>>>I was speaking of US medicare, not other systems.
>
>I was speaking of the real world where there is "evidence" about the systems you decry. Useful stuff, evidence- unless you've already made up your mind.

I have made up my mind regarding the free market v. government control as payor. To me it's a no brainer, given the history of free markets v. central control. The argument for central planning is without merit as proven throughout history. In addition I acknowledge that a freeing of the health care market will likely not happen in the US in my lifetime because weening 47% and growing of the populace off the "free" money train will take either a dramatic failure of the treasury or a generational cultural modification. We are headed in the wrong direction and getting worse, so I plan accordingly.

>>>We have a fundamentally different view on the issue. I am not interested in other countries' systems because they all (to my knowledge) involve the government in a transactional role. I want that eliminated and all health care transactions to take place in the private sector etc etc
>
>So it doesn't matter whether alternatives work better in real life, because you have already decided what is best and therefore do not need to consider the alternatives.

Why settle for what works better? I want what works best.

Problem : I cut my finger
Solution : Apply pressure until the bleeding stops and then allow it to heal on its own
Better Solution : Apply pressure until the bleeding stops, then bandage the wound
Best Practice : Apply pressure until the bleeding stops, apply antibiotic ointment, then bandage the wound

The better solution will work most of the time, but will take longer and is more at risk for infection than then the best practice.

>OK. Good luck.

You too.