text: Sorry - your reply wasn't up when I wrote my response. Right now I think I can see your point. But I am still concerned about how much our health care "system" costs, regardless of who provides insurance. For example, would you retain Medicare in your proposal? One of the issues that Bush's drug benefit created was Congress's prohibition on price negotiations with big pharma - which seems to increase costs across the board for US consumers. And, of course, as I wrote above, the fact that doctors, hospitals, etc., charge fees for each service provided, which obviously incentivizes more, not less, care (and more care is not always good for one's health). Finally, what would you propose re. the whole pre-existing conditions issue? Auto insurance differs from homeowners in a crucial way. If one wants to drive, one needs to buy insurance (though one can choose the coverage amount) - not so for homeowners (except if one has a mortgage). Would you make people buy health insurance?