A path to free market health care solutions

I am enrolling into a health plan at work that will offer a Health Savings Account (HSA), something that I have not had in the past. I am actually quite excited about this plan, we are covered from catastrophe and have more control over our care by having an account that we can spend out of, keeping insurance out of 'most' transactions.

This prompted a vision of an insurance-free society inside my head...

Patient walks into doctors office:, "before you begin, can I see the menu?" Of course, the patient needs to see what the costs are before proceeding. If prices were openly available and subject to scrutiny, just imagine how the doctors would compete, and how the prices would fall.

With a little efforton from the patients (consumers), I think we can bring down costs drastically. Currently patients communicate with doctors, doctors with insurance; while the insurance company and doctors work out the payment, then the doctors forward additional costs to the patient.

Much of the overhead involved in the doctors office comes from the fact that the doctors office is handling all the paperwork. Let's take them back out of it.

I think the patient should sit between the doctor and the insurance company. Let's take the doctors out of the middle. Let the patients do the paperwork and work on getting payment from the insurance companies. Let the patients see the bills!

Many people say that insurance comapnies pay less to doctors than a patient would. I believe this is false. If the patient was involved, asking questions, challenging charges, prices would drop even more. Patients currently don't care because they aren't spending money from their pocket, they just assum insurance will take care of things.

The removal of beauracracy will lower prices. More government involvement will not lower prices, but a little more patient involvement will.

Keep in mind that you can't insure health, only the ability to pay for health care.