Insurance - private or public

Here is an interesting article on the topic of healthcare reform.

But is there only one way it should function?

Must it be a for-profit serivce?

Must it be a private (not public) service?

Surely, it is a good thing to provide coverage to the uninsured, but it is remarkable that almost everyone assumes that coverage has to come from for-profit (or, in some cases, private non-profit) providers. Despite the overwhelming evidence from other industrial countries—and even domestic programs such as Medicare—that government-run health plans are much more efficient, the U.S. political class seems to be on a mission to save private insurance.

This issue of how insurance, specifically health insurace, is made available is important and deserves a bit of thoughtfulness from us all.