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That's interesting duckduck.
Our Congress is debating over privatization of our medicaid (actually, I can't remember if it's medicaid or medicare or both) program. The resolution claims that premiums would only be $35.
Right now an amendment just failed to guarantee medicaid as an option for seniors. Democrats had argued that if the market can do better for less money, then fine. But there should be a government baseline--something people could help to compare as well as something to fall back on, at a minimum.
It seems like your country could become poised to be in reverse of our situation. You already agree to the importance and humanity of providing for the health of a society's infirmed. The problem we have is that we don't yet agree that a society has a responsibility to those who can't help themselves.
Now, it doesn't seem such a huge prospect to allow private industry to compete against the the government system in place. But for us, changing our worldview on individual responsibility is a major paradigm shift--we already had one in the opposite direction during the 50s, and others before that.
I think competition and growth can be stimulated and maintained in an environment that consists of a guaranteed minimum of needs to all citizens as well as private industry competing to give those services better, less expensively, or both.
What do you think? Do you think that system would work (and political viable in your country)?
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