Yuku free message boards

Man, this convinces me that one thing the US should NOT emulate is dental care. No wonder we get the "big book of british smiles," if brits have to pay for dental work. That is generally considered part of a good employer health package in the US.

Most likely stemming from an understanding that health care, like many other things, is labor. It requires work, and it's not free. You have to pay for the labor of someone else; you have no 'right' to the labor of someone else without their say. You shouldn't even expect to have the 'right' to the labor of someone else, no questions asked. Likewise, the cost of that labor should not be arbitrarily decided by outside parties without any consideration as to what was involved or what other people are willing to pay. So, in that sense, a lot of Americans would say that 'health care is not a right'. A more accurate term would be 'responsibility'.

Police? Firefighters? Schools? You can get those privately, or through public services.

And the negotiations for prices are more towards pharmaceuticals than doctor labor. Bulk buyers negotiate prices, what's controversial about that?

Besides the basic moral reasons for the government to introduce public health care, a big reason is that, like the industries I mentioned, the theory of serving the customer through competition does not work with health insurance because there is a huge barrier to entry for potential competition. The whole notion is mitigation of individual cost by spreading the cost the many people, which requires an entrant to start with huge reserves of money. It is also by far to the economic advantage of the company to screw individual customers over, inventing silly excuses not to pay.