Last year, one out of every five families had problems paying their medical bills. That's more than the percentage of banks who are having problems raising the cash to pay their security-backed mortgage bills. Employees are paying double what they paid in 1999. The average plan now costs almost $13,000 a year. Is there any reason the government shouldn't swoop in, flood the sector with enough capital to ensure everyone gets health coverage, and then wrap the insurance industry in a stringent regulatory structure with strict requirements ensuring the business model is actually focused on delivering care to consumers, powerful oversight boards able to examine the excesses of the industry and make tough choices that the hunt for quarterly profits might distort, and place caps on payment for low-performing executives who aren't able to hold down the costs of their product?
