Redux

Its an interesting article and offers a self-described generational solution (in very general terms and little in the way of details) that I would agree with in many respects.

Where I would disagree most is the author's suggestion to minimize the government role. Without regulation, IMO, it is a pipe dream to think that a free market approach would put consumer care above profit....be it insurance companies, hospitals or private practitioners.

And because the current system is so entrenched, I think it would be incredibly disruptive in the short-term and likely to be multi-generational, taking decades...far longer than the author suggests. And the article offers little in the way of policy proposals to address the short-term or the interim long-term period in order to get there from here.

SO my concerns is what to do in the meantime and I think the current proposals, beyond the immediate relief to those uninsured and greater security to those with employer-based insurance, also include some consumer-based remedies that move in the right direction (ie rewarding prevention, greater quality control, reducing systemic redundancies, greater information sharing on best practices, etc.)

Bottom line...if we were starting with a clean slate, it might be a good approach, even if it is bit "pie in the sky".

But that is not the case, and IMO, we need to address the shortcomings with the current system while at the same time, moving towards a more efficient and equitable "care over cost" system in the long term.