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Notes -
I mean this is how power works. When you hear “should group X be making the decisions” what it tends to mean is “group X shouldn’t be held accountable to the public for making those decisions.” That’s why “shouldn’t be political” is a red flag in my mind. It’s a decision to be made by someone, and that decision will be made. But “not politics” generally should be translated “by people with the power to make the decision, but who face no consequences or responsibility for it.” And generally, if you want terrible outcomes, that’s the best way to get them. When the government is not making the decisions about healthcare, it’s generally someone else who is, and as our system actually works, it’s a bunch of actuaries hidden in the bowls of a giant bureaucracy in a big insurance company who decided how to calculate a formula in excel. Does he face any consequences for the results? Not really, as long as the company makes money and doesn’t get sued.
Government should be involved in those kinds of decisions simply because the government is at least in theory accountable to the public interest. If people’s health care access gets bad enough, eventually the pitchforks come out.
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