> Free markets and regulations can co-exist. It doesn't have to be one or the other.
Name one country on this or any other planet where this exists. Anywhere, except some bullshit theoretical textbook funded by a think-tank with obvious conflicts of interest.
> BTW, hospitals in the US begin publishing their pricing data online this year. By law.
More garbage. Those aren't real prices being published, they're approximations. And good luck calculating your service or trying to price shop while sick in bed.
I'll edit the comment and add a source for that soon. Found it[1].
The most ridiculous part is that some would call those published prices a good start. As if continuing down the road of an "educated consumer" is the right path.
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE CONSUMER TO BE EDUCATED IN HEALTHCARE.
Prices are just a small part of it of the impossibility.
Doctors and nurses go through years of school. They go through all that because medicine is hard. Even the basic aspect of pronouncing the words is hard.
If you can't pronounce the words, how can you be expected to remember them and shop around, while sick...
EMS: You have a broken leg and a concussion. Which hospital do you want us to take you to?
Me: can you pull over for a few minutes while I lookup some prices? Actually, my service in the area is terrible. Does this ambulance have wifi?
EMS: Sure.
Me: Is it free?
EMS: No but you'll be happy to know the prices are published on our website.
The prices listed are the retail prices while is not what the hospital usually charges. It's still not possible to know what price will end up on your bill. How much of a discount will you get at one hospital VS. another? Who knows...
> Name one country on this or any other planet where this exists.
With respect to healthcare? Switzerland, for example. Very similar to ACA, actually, with mandatory but private insurance, and significant premiums. Government spending as proportion of GDP is actually lower than in US! But they've got better price controls, and that makes all the difference.
But, really, most countries are hybrid in that regard. It's very rare to see a healthcare system that's completely run by the government, with no market elements at all.
The most successful markets are a careful balance of well crafted regulations.
Healthcare in the US is not carefully balanced.
BTW, hospitals in the US begin publishing their pricing data online this year. By law.