Bud, I think comparing car insurance and restaurant meals to health insurance is like comparing apples to oranges.
Having a car is very helpful and there are times when it can be a life-saver to be able to drive away, but there are other people who can drive someone (not always, but most of the time) if need be.
A person can still get some less expensive food at grocery stores and such (if they don't live in a "food desert") and still survive.
But medical care is not something that can really be compromised.
Medical treatment requires very specific care, medicines, and procedures. People can and do die from lack of treatment. People don't die because they can't eat at a fancy restaurant and ones who are very desperate for food will pick through the trash (I've seen people doing that). But you can't pick through the trash for medical care.
I'm not saying we should bring all the medical prices down to an unfair level so they would need to make up for it in other ways. I'm saying we should bring it down to a reasonable level so that they are able to make a little bit of profit over breaking even as an incentive. When they have a test that costs maybe $5 to run and they charge $800 or even $8,000 for it, that is absurd. They can charge maybe $20 to $50 or even $80 if they need to make up for the cost of the equipment. And the more people that can afford it, the more likely they are to get $ from doing those tests.
As for the cheap/free clinics-- they aren't available in some areas. People might have to get a lift to places 2 to 3 hours away. And some people aren't able to get there. And places like Walmart (at least where I live) won't always let people have days off when they need to go to appointments or even when they have medical emergencies. The local Walmart here has fired at least 5 employees (that I know of) because they needed medical treatment. (Which is why I think they need to enforce the rules for the Family Medical Leave Act more strictly).
I'm not sure how I feel about a Walmart run clinic. Maybe they can pull it off in Canada, but not where I live. I know they sometimes have eye clinics at Walmarts, but actual regular medical.... I wouldn't trust them. I think I'd trust Costco more, but there is no Costco in my area.
I'm not suggesting that people just straight up get a free ride, but people should not be dying because they can't get medical treatment- and I do know that some hospitals will refuse to treat children because the parents can't afford it. I've had friends who couldn't get their kids treated for painful injuries/medical issues because they couldn't afford to pay the full amount up front and the doctor's refused to do the treatment without said payment. And if they were charging reasonable amounts or allowing payment plans, my friends would have been able to afford it. I get they don't trust payment plans because people don't always pay, but necessary treatment should not be withheld because of money.
