I think we are starting to dig into the weeds a bit too much. I am well aware of how insurance works, and how single payer systems contrast to the US system. What the OP was trying to point out was that free market economics can break down in certain situations, and health care is a prime example.
>What the OP was trying to point out was that free market economics can break down in certain situations, and health care is a prime example.
And my point was that such situations account for a very small percentage of situations in health care. Most situations and most medical care expenditures aren't of the type claimed by OP. In other words, it's really not a prime example and many of the highest costs are things that people could decide on. For example, the UK will probably not offer treatments that cost more than about $50,000/quality-adjusted year. It would be possible to offer insurance in the US for substantially less if insurance companies could sell a policy that would stick to that, and many people would take probably buy them (many people choose not to even buy insurance currently).
