@177. BC: – I used a more detailed and accurate chart at one point that showed the divergence at 1960, …
Sure. Now that your chosen references have proved you wrong, you want to find something new. I get that.
When you do, remember that Reagan wasn’t President in 1960, so your Reagan-phobia won’t explain any divergence in the numbers there. Neither will appeals to “innovation”, since all other sectors have had money poured into innovation without experiencing the skyrocketing costs we’ve seen in health care.
Comprehensive (and comprehensive-style) plans’ memberships grew steadily beginning in the mid-70s (see your book) and continued apace until some 70% of the working population is now covered under such plans. The health care these people consume is artificially increased because “insurance will cover it”. The care their doctors prescribe in order to be “thorough” – i.e., to limit liability – is pursued because “insurance will cover it”. The insurance companies who process the claims for ALL this health care set the prices and control access, forming the closest thing you will find to a monopoly outside of a single-company situation.
The only way to fix the health care problem is to open it back up to a truly free market, break the insurance companies’ monopoly, and get the government out of the business of selling insurance.
