Why has no nation on Earth ever had a successful private, for-profit, universal health insurance system?

As you say, it is because of the unique situation regarding health care. In the United State between the health insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the food industry there seems to be three-headed monster that has a goal to keep the populous in ill-health. The result is that we have a health care system that is more reactive to sickness rather than proactive in promoting wellness (which would mean a whole lot less profit for all three of those industries).

And to your answer . . . very well thought out. I am indeed in favor of a sinlge payer VA-like system.

The answer is simple. Paying less for procedures doesn't make them cost less to provide. The problem does not lie solely in the profit being made by insurance companies. The cost of practicing medicine is incredibly high. Even a single payer non-profit plan will not eliminate that problem. Unless something is done to address cost, rationing will occur at all levels, private and public. I also ask that you speak with a veteran who's had serious health issues and had to rely solely on the VA. I think you'll find that many are not receiving the excellent care that you speak of, nor do Medicaid recipients. Medicare recipients fare a little better, but most of them have supplemental private plans to make up for the gaps in the public coverage.

As an RN with a BS degree, I believe while Obama's plan is flawed, it's really the only game in town. Either we get health care or we keep going on without it. Illegals get it free. Welfare recipients and poor people get all kinds of care funded by the government now. That won't change with whatever plan goes into effect. Under the law now, all poor children are entitled, children of working families are not if the parents are not covered. Therein lies the rub.

What I want to see is making the Senators, Legislators and Congress get the same coverage as the REST of us. Until that happens, lawmakers will always be held to elite status and way above the rest.

The VA system is quality health care? Have you ever been to a VA hospital? They are dirty, crowded and under serve our Veterans. Ask any Veteran what they think about the VA system.

What service does the Government provide that is self sustaining and efficient? Before you say the post office, please remember that they are currently going bankrupt and are closing branches.

You want to cut a large expense from health care, how about tort reform? many of the procedures performed are done as a medical legal procedure, this is done to protect physicians from unnecessary lawsuits by predatory lawyers. Notice how Obama and the Democrats don't want to talk about Tort reform. I also noticed you didn't mention it either. Can a Veteran sue the VA administration?

Because you cannot have success and profit both. If the people are paying through the government for their health care, why should anyone make a profit out of them. Actually, now I come to think about it, that creeping selling off of service provision to private comapanies is what's happening here in the UK and what do you know? It's still isn't working. Making a lot of American companies a lot richer as a result, though.

I'm sorry, I don't understand your question. A private, for profit, universal health care system? So, do you mean, one private company with a monopoly on health insurance?

To respond to a couple of the previous answers...

The health insurance industry is definitely not service work. The line of thinking that somehow providing health insurance is like providing an education is just wrong. Health care practitioners, on the other hand, ARE doing a service job.

These are totally separate things. The reason someone becomes a doctor is to heal people. But, people don't get a job with a health insurance company because they like to heal people, they do it because they like working in the insurance industry.

There is no way to equate the health care practitioner - health insurer relationship to any other industry.

very interesting arguement so i am supposed to believe that a corporation will scam me on my medical coverage to increase profits but also conclude that if i am insured on a government run no fee at point of service type plan this will not happen to me to meet a budget objective or to move money into a pork barrel project. yes i am now convinced i can trust my government completly ha ha ha ha ha. seriusly i have more trust in the corparation than i ever will in the government high rate of deaths under five as an argument sorry you used that to get child seat laws and to increase interventions in the smoking drinking and drug habits of pregnant women. now is it the health insurance or the mothers habits and accidents you do not get to claim both. liberals do not try to help us conservatives as we are trying to create a system that will not need a public plan.

I did not drop out from high school. My GPA was 3.75, If you are trying to persuade, then might I suggest not insulting your audience.

On government inefficiency, I guess you missed yet another article all over the news today about how SS recipients are going to receive less next year, with even less in 2011. IF the government can fix either SS or Medicare, then I will be all for considering UHC. But, alas, despite me being a presumed high school drop out, I am not that naive.

edit: Our military is the best in the world in spite of the inefficiencies of the government that funds it.

Good thing you truly weren't addressing HS dropouts or you'd have more auto mechanics responding ;)

You are one of the fortunate ones who has NOT apparently been grossly ripped off by a mechanic's garage. Many, on the other hand, have. My neighborhood garage price gouged me on a muffler which was fixed in April and STILL rattles like there's a pissed off cat inside.

Greed breeds corruption in private industry and govt.

I had to contact my State Atty General regarding my car's auto dealer mechanic. I brought my car in for a faulty belt, which fell off in a parking lot. I had to have the car towed to the dealer to get fixed. THEN I received the recall on that very GM car only to find that since my problem happened BEFORE GM admitted there was a prob and the letter went out my repair bill was not covered.

No mal-practice insurance coverage in the auto repair industry. It's a crap shoot.

There are private hospitals within some universal health care systems and they do make a profit however the concept of universal health care is treatment before profit. It's called humanity.