Since Republicans have no answers, as usual, as to how to reform our health care system, most are sticking with the only thing they do know. Free Market. If it was up to Ron Paul, we would accept absolutely no regulation. He claims the free market never had a chance to pass or fail when it comes to the health care industry. There's too much "big government" involved. There's too many regulations and "rules" about how the health care billionaires can make their billions.
When I think of free market, I think of free market. I picture a person named James at Best Buy buying a 32 inch plasma because it is cheaper, then a person named Bill buying a 60 inch plasma because it's awesome and he can afford it. I think of a woman buying an apple that appears fresh rather than an apple that appears spoiled.
There's a few things that don't come to mind when I think about free market. How does Adam Smith's invisible hand decide whether or not someone purchases a $17,000 surgery to survive? How does the invisible hand decide when or where someone will have an unexpected heart attack?
Does the free market system only work in the health care industry when someone is deciding how long they are supposed to live or when someone gambles on the odds of a less successful recovery plan? Does the doctor tell the patient that "This surgery is successful 95% of the time, but for one time only these pills are available for you to take and are 70% percent cheaper than the surgery and have a 40% chance of success!"
Sure, the free market is a good system when it deals with consumers deciding whether or not to buy a Saturn for a little less or a Toyota for a little more. On the contrary, the free market shows no pity on a consumer deciding between living or dying.