The biggest problem with health care reform is the failure of policymakers to change their mindsets regarding how important the financing of healthcare is.  Healthcare finance should be treated like national defense -- a public good produced or procured by the national government.  I believe a system can be put in place where the national government acts as an insurer of last resort and receives premiums from taxpayers via payroll deductions.  Taxpayers would receive a basic level of care and be able to choose their healthcare provider.  Insurance companies can still play a role in the supplemental healthcare market, providing insurance to cover catastrophic care.  For the self-employed or unemployed, these citizens can still opt in by paying the same premium that wage earners are paying.

The reason we are not seeing this type of policy is that Congress and the President are trying to reconcile the current market system with the notion of reform.  Its not about reform.  Its about the total dismantling of a healthcare finance system that does not work and replacing it with one that does.  As long as taxpayers get to choose their doctors, government financing of healthcare will provide many Americans with the care they need.