why isnt the healthcare industry government run?

The government does not do a particularly good job at running or budgeting any system. And, let's not forget that should that government-run healthcare not be up to our standards, it is the people making the decisions that would be under fire for it. That's a pretty big bullseye for legislators to put on their backs. Better to let a privately run healthcare industry be the scapegoat.

Secondly, government-run healthcare interferes with the free market economy, which is something near and dear to legislators' hearts, particularly for conservatives. Even if the government were to set maximum profit margins for certain medical services, this would look too much like socialism or communism for the comfort of many.

My viewpoint is that, while I generally support a free market economy, healthcare should not be a privately priced commodity. With other goods and services, we can choose to buy them or not, and this keeps the prices in check through the supply-and-demand system. Not so with health care. If I need a medication or procedure that I will die or become severely sick or disabled without, then I am forced to hand over every penny if there are no alternatives. Life and death, and quality of life, should not be in the hands of private corporations.

This leaves us in a tough spot. We can trust the government to provide us with healthcare, though even a cursory glance at the government's performance with other projects will tell us that this is a risky proposition. Just look at the Department of Veteran's Affairs if you need evidence of this. Secondly, we can impose cost restraints on private sector healthcare. There are probably smart ways to do this--for example, levying heavy penalties for price gouging with certain drugs--but this is again a minefield of liabilities. Too heavy a hand, and the government will drive investors and innovators out of the field, or more likely, overseas to countries with fewer restrictions on profits.

In my opinion, our first step should be to close some loopholes in the healthcare industry. For example, the law currently states that drug patents last for 5 years, after which other companies can use the formula and create generic versions of the drug. However, through a crafty legal loophole, the patent owning company can work behind doors with the generic companies in order to prevent this. The way that it works is the owning company sues the generic companies for patent infringement. This is clearly not a winnable case in front of a judge, because 5 years is 5 years. However, the case doesn't go to a judge. Instead, the companies reach a "settlement" where the OWNING COMPANY agrees to pay each of the generic companies a certain dollar amount, often in the hundreds of millions. Because this is a settlement that is a result of a lawsuit, the owning company is not technically breaking the law by paying competitors to stay out of the field. If the CEO of the owning company instead offered to pay the same amount for the other companies to not produce generics of the drug, it would violate antitrust laws, and all companies involved would see severe repercussions.

Secondly, the ban on importing drugs from overseas should end. Currently, an American is not allowed to purchase prescription medication and have it shipped to them from foreign countries. A person would do this, because almost without exception, prescription drugs are cheaper in almost any other country--and the price is sometimes staggeringly different. Being able to purchase drugs from other countries would make pharmaceutical countries play fair, rather than allowing them to jack up the prices artificially for citizens of more developed nations. Now, this is a double edged sword, because once everybody is on a level playing field, supply and demand takes over, and that may price some medications out of the reach of citizens of poorer countries. However, it is also not ethical to make Americans pay more to supplement the costs of medications in underdeveloped countries, and in virtually all cases, the pharmaceutical companies produce the drug for less than it is sold for even at its cheapest price globally.

Don't forget the cost includes all of Obama's penalties, mandates, fines, medical services supporting the liberal agenda. All of it is about to change.

Because too many people are making big $$$ from it! Where would you like to start the list? Doctors? Hospital administrators? Heath insurance executives? Drug company executives?

Just about every other first world industrialized nation seems to think it is a good idea. The USA is the only holdout. Why? The far right has succeeded in conflating socialism with communism. Sharing has been vilified as somehow being un-American.

Here in Canada it is an absolute no-brainer and not controversial at all. Every party (including the Conservatives) and just about every citizen thinks that it just makes sense to share the cost of health care.