RAZD writes:
Personally I would like to see a coalition of liberal states going this route. Vermont started it, and several liberal states have pledged to fill the gaps in healthcare created by the GOP. Massachusetts already has Romneycare.
It isn't the perfect solution, but no solution is. With that in mind, there are some obvious flaws in that system. First, it will be hard for small states to negotiate prices down, especially when it comes to drugs. If smaller states can band together with larger states then they will have more bargaining power. Second, what happens when you get sick outside of your state of residence? That sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare. Third, what happens to people in stridently conservative states (like the one I live in) who refuse to create these healthcare systems?
The real problem is cost, not how to pay for private insurance. We could still have a system with multiple private insurers and federally controlled healthcare prices. We do the very same thing with utilities, where states control how much companies can charge for things like electricity.
As I said before, no plan is perfect, and a state by state mish mash of systems would be better than no plan at all. We will have to see what the Republicans come up with. I am guessing it will be almost indistinguishable from the ACA, but we will see.