...in which I conduct a thought experiment that might help you explain the need for health care reform to your conservative friends.
Consider a manufacturing company, say Widgets-R-Us. They make widgets. Typically, they start with raw materials--mud, twigs, string, etc. They often need to buy these resources from someone. These get processed in their factory by skilled workers, who make widgets, which are then sold to the public.
Now imagine that Widgets-R-Us (and other manufacturers of widgets) get all of their widgets FOR FREE from various levels of government. And no, they're not just leasing government land--the government is actually doing the lion's share of the leg work in making the raw materials ready for the production line. And delivering them to the manufacturer's receiving dock. If the CEOs then turned around and whined about increased regulation, because it was interfering with the "free market"--I think laughter would be an entirely appropriate response.
Now let's turn our attention to insurance companies. An insurance company (any insurance company, not just health insurance) creates...insurance premiums. For every policy you buy, part of the premium is what's called a "pure premium". That's what the insurance company delivers, and you pay that plus their profit. (I won't begrudge them profit). Now, how are these pure premiums made? I thought you'd never ask. The raw material is data, and the machines are mathematical formulas. The factory workers are actuaries.
Here's the thing. Insurance companies are a real life example of what I described in paragraph two! Census data? Federally funded. Highway data? Check. Medical studies? Often from government grants. Police reports? Supported by state and county taxes. The lion's share of the data that's fed into premium machines is created and even quality inspected by various levels of government--mostly federal.
For the insurance companies to turn around, like my "hypothetical" widget company, and complain about government regulation is the height of hypocrisy.
Discuss.