Not certain by what you mean by "astronomical administrative costs". I distinctly recall that 15-20% of all profit made in a private health care insurer went to administrative costs, while 5% in the equivalent medicare agency was spent on administrative costs.
I do agree with you that the profit component of health care is by far the most unstable and problematic part of the entire fiasco. Putting a price on good health leads to rather unfortunate circumstances - how much money would anothers life be worth to you? Regardless of the monetary component, I've noticed that many people seem to forget that even if caring for another requires an enormous amount of resources in the now, the existing problem can be used to spur innovation in the present and reduce in the future the drain of resources inherent in certain conditions.
In other words, current costs are not an excuse to provide health coverage - they should instead fuel innovation in reducing costs through technological advancements, not through simple denial or attrition of fees.
I do agree with you that the profit component of health care is by far the most unstable and problematic part of the entire fiasco. Putting a price on good health leads to rather unfortunate circumstances - how much money would anothers life be worth to you? Regardless of the monetary component, I've noticed that many people seem to forget that even if caring for another requires an enormous amount of resources in the now, the existing problem can be used to spur innovation in the present and reduce in the future the drain of resources inherent in certain conditions.
In other words, current costs are not an excuse to provide health coverage - they should instead fuel innovation in reducing costs through technological advancements, not through simple denial or attrition of fees.
