My point is that it's seems a little optimistic to think that a free market for healthcare is an adequate solution, given that no free market healthcare system exists anywhere at scale. I think some markets are simply inappropriate for free markets - particularly one where services are by definition specialized and market feedback involves failures in critical life risking situations.
The parent was fairly pointing out that healthcare in the US is not a free market. For one there is zero price transparency let alone competition. For another there is the insurance industry which is both heavily regulated and state backed. Health insurer market is similar to the wired ISP market.
We don’t really know what a true free market would do with modern healthcare because as you say there is no such thing. Personally I think it could work for middle class and above but would leave a big coverage cliff down below because it’s not profitable to insure or treat the really poor.
The question is whether real transparency with price competition and efficiency gains would make it cheaper to then add a safely net for the poor.
