Deinonychus antirrhopus

Health insurance ought to be outlawed. It consists entirely of scams and moral hazards.

No doctor can stay in business charging more than people are willing to pay.

Doctors used to be the economics 101 example of variable pricing suited to the customer, because you can't arbitrage it.

In particular, doctors charged what they thought was payable by the customer, and somehow recovered the costs of medical school. People did not die from lack of treatment.

Now, there's unshakeable hysteria and handwringing, not even about medical care, but about insurance for medical care. A classic solution creating the problem.

Health care is tricky....My wife worked for a Children's Hospital for a few years and even our children went there on occasion - late night fevers of 104, etc - this hospital did not turn any child away and relied on donors in the community to pick up the slack for uninsured and under insured. It continues to work...but there is another side to this.

Doctors, nurses, and hospitals are fallible - and mistakes happen. Sometimes egregious, life threatening mistakes. To dismiss health insurance without an alternative solution is to decry the symptom without addressing the cause. I think there should be a cap on malpractice and definite reform throughout the insurance industries - until there is some sort of alternative, there can be no variable pricing when it comes to life and death in an industry as overwhelmed as health care.

As for the numbers themselves, thanks for the info - I am relieved to hear the number of children uncovered has not risen and whether this is a direct result of Bush policy or more indirect, I can agree this is a good thing, especially given the recession.