A part of me actually hopes it does. Successful bandaging of the for-profit system lets it live longer, but it is ultimately unsustainable and probably will be done away with some day.
The American voting public has already considered certain industries better maintained for the "public good" than for profit: elementary and secondary education come to mind. But I agree that this generation won't put health care in that category (the next one... maybe). The analogy does raise the question though: If and when health care becomes a public work, how do we keep doctor from being the new teacher?
What would that solve? The power-hungry will always find sneaky ways to make "campaign contributions." At least right now I have a more accurate name for my rep's real employer than "Mr. Bag-With-Dollar-Sign."
True, but such contributions would be illegal, and thus more risky. Pandering to corporations with socialized health care would be a disaster. We'd end up with the Haliburton version of health care. And by that I don't mean unethical behavior overseas, I mean a government sponsored corporate monopoly on the industry. Who is the lucky winner that gets the biggest health care contract this year? Yes, I know what the plan is, yes, I know it's supposed to allow people to choose, but favors will be traded and regulations will be made and that's just a part of business as usual these days
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But you're making the same point as the article: Health care won't work as long as for-profit companies are involved (If the goal is the best health care we can afford as a nation, then "for-profit" and "corrupt" might as well be the same word). If the law says the "lucky winner" must be a non-profit, then at least it wouldn't have stockholders to put ahead of patients.
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Socialize campaign financing, then we'll talk.
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