The United States spends more on healthcare per person, by far, than any other developed country. The compromise that is Obamacare (the curious and discredited idea that private profit guarantees good care) means that millions will still being paying over the odds, and millions will still be without adequate healthcare, dying unnecessarily. The rest of us will continue to give insurers and others a fat profit. Why? It is a disgrace that the US lags so far behind the rest of the world on such a basic need for its people. Obamacare will help somewhat, but the system is irrational.

Of all the ideas that have been tried or proposed, only one will cover everyone and provide the world-class care we all deserve: single-payer Medicare-for-All. It will also save our country $350 billion or more — annually. That’s how much of the money we spend each year is lost to the health insurance industry’s bureaucracy and profits”. Public Citizen).

Epicurus would not argue with the above. His object was ataraxia, or peace of mind. You cannot have peace of mind if you are forced to pay for healthcare an amount you cannot possibly afford. A single payer system is not socialism; it is simply civilized. Meanwhile, the current system doesn’t represent free enterprise – it is neither free nor enterprising. On the contrary, it is laughably bureaucratic.