The correct answer would have been to open up the various programs offered by Federal and State govs to be purchased by corporations and individuals. Medicare is supposedly going to be run out of money in 20 or so years, and I would think the gov would love to get extra cash coming into its coffers. What would the difference be, whether i paid Medicare or Blue Cross, Tri-Care or Blue Cross, CHIP or Blue Cross? As long as at the end of the day bottom line i get the healthcare I need. Someone wants to support the military, they buy tri-care, someone wants to ensure medicare will still be available when they retire buys medicare, or someoneis thinking of the poor children they buy CHIPs. The extra money in those programs would allow them to reach out and help more people or provide even better coverage for those in need. Putting your money where your mouth is, you care about poor people, then invest your dollars where it would do the most good, big health insurance Companies is not it when it comes to helping poor people get what they need.

The other aspect to this solution is that it does create a cap insurance companies can charge, and/or they would need to differentiate themselves and offer a superior service people would be willing to pay extra for. Kind of like Fedex, UPS, vs. the US Post Office, they can charge a little more and still have the capacity to compete, however very few people are going to pay 3x the price for a similar service.