> If you are bitten by a raccoon, you can’t really decide not to get the rabies vaccine. It’s literally a life-or-death situation. But the price is incredibly high. This, to me, is a perfect example of why healthcare should be subsidized by the government (either directly or through a government-backed insurance plan that you receive as a fallback). Health isn't a good or service you choose to purchase. Demand is per…
Nah, this doesn't really work in the US. All it does is to funnel money into the coffers of the companies that are creating the problem in the first place.
There has to be some more regulation – companies need to be forced to be more transparent in their pricing, as well as to limit the markup they can add so they can 'negotiate' down.
And then, there has to be some competition, as in many places people have no alternatives. That competition could even be with the government itself, in the form of government-run clinics or hospitals. This works in Brazil – you don't have to carry any form of insurance whatsoever if you don't want to. For major issues, you are covered just fine – trauma surgeons in the public network are among the best (at least in big population centers), and are often the same doctors that practice in private hospitals. My mother also got top notch cancer treatment for free. The last one is more location-dependent though.
Even as a foreigner, should you get in a car crash or something, you'll be patched up nicely and not pay anything.
Now, if you got a non life-threatening issue, then it can be a problem, as even the big hospitals may lack resources for everybody, so your appointment may be scheduled far in the future. To counter that, you can choose (and most middle class people do) to carry private insurance and not burden the public network. Private insurance is then cheaper that it would otherwise be because there is an upper limit on how much they can charge you – go too high and many people will drop insurance and private insurers (plus hospitals and clinics) would lose customers.
The government will also provide essential medication for free (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc). It doesn't matter how high your income is.
It is really not supposed to be rocket science. If a third world 'developing' economy can do it, with a much lower economic output, then the US could do it too. But not if it's a care program that's allowing companies to continue charging $100 for a band-aid.