On 16 Aug 2009 at 23:18, John Williams wrote: > If the government is going to interfere in the insurance market, it > seems to me that it would be simpler just to directly subsidize those > who cannot afford to pay health insurance premiums, and leave the > insurance market to function rationally.
That is extremely expensive, for all it's "simpler". Again, paying from a pool on risk assessment encourages insurance companies to invest heavily in preventative care rather than the more expensive critical care for many conditions, which the government simply paying out vast sums in insurance for sick people doesn't provide. (More, the government has to set limits somewhere if it is directly subsidising insurance...) AndrewC _______________________________________________ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com