CARPE DIEM: Markets in Everything: Deeply-Discounted Surgery for Cash, Payable in Advance

My Perspective:

OK, so it's not super cheap, but hey, you spend as much on fixing a car part, and this is your body...car can't go anywhere without it, but you can go somewhere without your car. We should get away from insurance as much as possible, and just cover the big stuff with cheap catastrophic insurance. you can do all the stuff that isn't covered by making a tax free savings account for it. GENIUS! costs will come down across the board, and as soon as those operations are open to a mostly free market they will also decrease in price. everyone will be able to afford more healthcare on their own....and it keeps going on and on till we are barely using insurance, which means prices come down, premiums go down and everyone has coverage!

Want proof the free market works? Look at Lasik eye surgery. A decade ago it was barely available, super expensive, and dangerous. Now that it has had time to be refined it is routine procedure. And because it was not covered by most insurance companies, the price came down to real market levels. Almost anyone can afford the surgery, as long as they value their ability to see above their ability to buy that new 43" flat screen (I would think eye sight is a necessity in order to enjoy the TV)