Reply #40: That's dogma

[Recursion]

There is nothing the insurance cos contribute to the process that could not be done cheaper and better by the public sector.

I understand this is a deeply-held article of faith here. However, there's no evidence to support that statement. None. The McAllen, TX, study shows that Medicare and Medicaid are capable of wasting amounts of money that put the private sector's profit margins to shame.

On this subject (along with gun control), liberals start arguing like conservatives, unfortunately: we run to first principles and a priori arguments rather than looking at actual evidence. And that's what leads us to bad ideas sometimes. The past few years of MassCare have shown that a publicly-managed exchange of private insurance companies actually is working at insuring all and lowering costs (exchange premiums are down 14% this year; coverage in MA is at 99% or so).