[David]

I downloaded the PDF of the bill a few days ago & did an electronic search for the word "tort." The search came up empty. I assume, therefore, that this enormous, hugely expensive bill makes absolutely no provisions for reform in tort issues--primarily, plainly unreasonable jury awards? Also, what about malpractice insurance coverage costs? Any move toward making those costs more reasonable, whether by opening state-line regulations & growing the competition or by jury award reform?

If it's my "right" to be treated by a physician, why isn't it my "right" to have a lifelong food supply put in front of me? or a lifelong water supply? The point isn't "rights"--the point is having access to a product or service by way of a delivery system on the open market. "Free" healthcare might be free for YOU, but it isn't free for other parties along the delivery system. When a physician treats you, it is costing her: in time, training, & money. It is supremely inefficient for the state to attempt to pay the costs of every party involved in the healthcare delivery system--mark my words, people will continue to sicken & die waiting for a bureaucracy to respond to their needs. It's demonstrably more efficient & safer & more moral to allow a market to operate the way a market operates: allow a demand for a product or service to generate delivery across a cost spectrum, from cheap to expensive, depending on how much an individual wants to or can afford to spend.

When I want to buy something, I want thousands of suppliers competing for my dollar. I want each supplier knowing full well that if I'm not happy with one, I'll quickly move to another. Such a novel approach should have been implemented, & in order to implement it, the state would have had to deregulate by allowing customers to transact business with any health insurance company in the country.

Is there a real-world example of a largely (but not completely) deregulated market in America today that, through innovation & the freedom to compete, is successful at delivering its product to just about everybody who wants one & who makes huge profits that, in turn, drive further innovation--in most cases, at a whirlwind pace, creating thousands of jobs & giving just about all of us access to a world of information--at a price that drops year after year after year?

Look down at the machine you're typing on right now.