There are many countries in South America that offer better health care to their citizens than we do at a fraction of the cost! We blow billions of dollars on health care yet can't provide something as simple as a neighborhood first aid clinic, which has existed for decades in many countries. The solution to the health care crisis is to offer publicly funded health insurance to everyone while letting people purchase private health insurance if they prefer to do so (option 3). This will force insurance companies to lower their premiums in order to compete with government-provided insurance. This option will mean paying more taxes, but obviously it will still be considerably cheaper than private insurance, and won't make people dependent on their employers for their health care needs. This current economic crisis has proven that free markets will not solve society's problems, especially not in the health care industry, when the primary motivating factor of free markets is to maximize profits.

There are many countries in South America that offer better health care to their citizens than we do at a fraction of the cost! We blow billions of dollars on health care yet can't provide something as simple as a neighborhood first aid clinic, which has existed for decades in many countries. The solution to the health care crisis is to offer publicly funded health insurance to everyone while letting people purchase private health insurance if they prefer to do so (option 3). This will force insurance companies to lower their premiums in order to compete with government-provided insurance. This option will mean paying more taxes, but obviously it will still be considerably cheaper than private insurance, and won't make people dependent on their employers for their health care needs. This current economic crisis has proven that free markets will not solve society's problems, especially not in the health care industry, when the primary motivating factor of free markets is to maximize profits.