Since We Don't have Much a a Free-Market System, Let's Try One

   Once you realize how health-care system isn't operating under much of a competitive-market system -- wow! -- then you have something to be excited about.
   Come on, now, let's take a look at how competitive we are -- or aren't, that is. Say, your doctor calls you up and says it's time for an echo cardiogram. What do you do? You look at the schedule, and go in and get the echo, right?
   So, where was the competition? Did you choose from a number of offerings? Oh, you did chose a doctor in advance, but at this juncture, you had but one option. You should have a choice each time a product (in this case, the echo cardiogram) is about to be purchased. If you don't have a choice, how is it a competitive process?
    So, let's do this: let's put our health system under a free-market model.
   Now, the first thing we are going to have to do,is create a pricing system. We've got to have price tags hanging on the products. You can hardly pretend to have competition when there is not even so much as a way to price the products. Off top, I say require health-care providers to list their prices, and, in advance, when it is non-emergency.
   But, just having the price in advance will do no good, if you can't take it and compare it to  the prices of other providers. So, have a web site where all the health-care providers list not only their prices for all these procedures -- echo cardiograms and whatever -- but pitch why their product is a little better than what you'll get elsewhere.
   All of which presupposes you can do from one doctor for one thing, to another doctor for something else. And, there is no such thing as being out of network. There is no qualified provider that you are not free to choose from. Once you create this thing called out-of-network, you start driving nails into the free-market system.
   So, don't do it.
   So, there you have it, something to be excited about! We aren't exactly operating under a fully bona fide competitive-market system, so we ought to be excited wondering what will happen if we simply install it. What will happen, if we give it a try?
   The neat thing is, this ccan be done on a state-wide scale. And, it can be done whether Obamacare is repealed or not. .