Idle thoughts on health insurance reform (for next time)

What if public education worked like health care?
- If you're lucky enough to work for a big company, you can buy into a company-subsidized education fund which foots the bill for your kid's education. If you lose your job, your kid can't go to school.
- if you're not so lucky, you can pay out of pocket to fund your kid's education.
- if you can't afford it, or choose not to buy education coverage... well, you can always home school!... or just decide that all that education stuff just isn't for you.
Why don't we do this?
Education is viewed as a necessity and a right. It's one of the things government ought to provide.
How do we pay for it? With taxes.
If you choose to 'opt out' you can - sort of. You still pay taxes to support public schools, but you can pay out of pocket for a private school if you've got the $$$.
Of course, education is funded locally.
[Which suggests a model for the next round of health insurance reform!]

What if local fire department worked like health insurance?
Again, if you're lucky enough to work for a big company, you can buy into a company-subsidized fire insurance program. When your house catches fire and you call 911, the first question isn't, "What's the address?", but "What's your fire insurance ID number?"
If you don't work for a big company, you can buy insurance on the open market.
If you can't afford it, or choose not to pay... well, don't bother calling 911.
Why don't we do it this way?
As with education, public safety is universally viewed as a legitimate role of (local) government, to be paid for with taxes.

So - why isn't timely access to quality healthcare similarly viewed as a basic right?
Beats me.

Again - this round of the debate is now concluded. I offer these idle thoughts in preparation for the next round.