AHIP opposes creation of government health plan to rival private insurers

Why would you lead the story by citing to an online poll? Such polls are incredibly unscientific, for the obvious reason that you're only getting the opinion of the readers of that website who feel strongly enough to click through. Given that this was WSJ, it's no surprise that over half would answer "No Way."

This is a slippery slope, a government run healthcare system. But, it is interesting to hear that AHIP opposes competing with the government. We should take interest, because in a true, free market a government product/service would never be competitive due to the inherent inefficiencies and bureaucracy. To hear that AHIP opposes that product makes me think of insurers working together to manage pricing among a group of insider buddies.

AHIP has already made a significant concession (about rate setting for the sicker people) based on this threat. Perhaps we should threaten a national Oil Company, too.

It figures the Wall St. Journal would poll this way. I am familiar with the Canadian healthcare system and know that the Canadians would not go to a private or employer based system at gunpoint.

I also know an uninsured 28 year old wife and mother of 3 who died from an epileptic seizure. She drowned in her own bathtub because she made the tragic choice to choose feeding her kids over her own medication. If she were Canadian, she would still be alive today.

I am tired of people who have Rolls Royce insurance and insurance companies (AKA piggy banks for the rich) telling us whether we will live or die. I'll take my chances with the government.

As someone who is also familiar with the Canadian system, I have to say the Canadians I'm in touch with on a regular basis fully recognize the limitations that accompany government-controlled health care. When they need serious care (or even a simple MRI), they know enough to head for the U.S. I haven't heard yet what they plan to do when this important option is no longer available to them.

Likewise, friends in the UK are well aware that their government-run health system is in shambles, which is why so many Brits are now flying to India for out-of-pocket care. India's system, while socialist to a point, allows for a private-sector provision that leaves room for high quality care. Increasingly, my Brit friends are finding it cheaper and easier to get on a plane to India than to wait around indefinitely for the NHS.

While I am certainly no fan of insurance companies, the competitive environment in which they function at least ensures a menu of options for health care consumers. By contrast, a government-controlled system ensures: the arrival of health care rationing in the U.S., power over health related decisions shifting from patients (informed by doctors) to bureaucrats (informed by statistical tables), and the death of innovation with regard to clinical technologies and procedures.

I'll take my chances with a competitive-based system over government-controlled healthcare any day of the week.