I'm not arguing about the effect, I disagree with the implied intent in your comment. The problem is that governments use tariffs, other penalties and import duties as a cash grab that doesn't help anything but the government's coffers.
If a company's costs increase, why would they hold steady on their prices? That's bad management. Unfortunately people don't have the luxury of demanding higher wages when some group of pinheads in Washington DC decide to screw them by increasing or adding taxes, decreasing Social Security benefits, delaying increases or taking care of US veterans. They give handouts to people who aren't even supposed to be here and never asked for asylum- the whole illegal immigration issue is so convoluted it's ridiculous. Some want to give non-citizens the right to vote- what does that tell you about where the US is headed?
WRT health insurance, outside of the actual ACA as written, it's the insurance companies that are causing the cost to increase. If they were completely out of the picture, all of the money they take as revenue would have been used for health care. It's the insurers who deny coverage, not hospitals and doctors. It's the insurers who are betting that we won't have a claim and they stack the deck against us by raising our premium after we have a claim. They have a good or great year, they hand out huge bonuses & build new headquarters; when they have a bad year, they raise everyone's premiums. The big medical care providers built hospitals and people who couldn't pay went to the ER for piddly problems, like stubbed toes, minor headaches, sprained ankles- that's what I saw when I was there, although I admit that if I had known what they would do for me, I would have gone to the clinic not far from home, as those people should. Minor care doesn't require hospital care- that should be handled by a clinic. I know I have drifted from the original topic, but this country is as screwed up as I have seen it and I'm approaching retirement age.
I think you are trying to drag me into the political aspect of US healthcare. Really, it's not my politics that matter, but I can offer my observation.
I worked in America during the first Health Care attempt (Clintons) and had many people, after learning where I was from, accuse me of trying to export my Commie Healthcare into America. I told them then what I will tell you now ... no one in the US ever proposed a Canada-style Health Care system as it actually exists, despite often referring to it as such, and I personally don't care which Public Health Care system you use as a model ... try Japan's, or Hong Kong's, or Israel's, or South Africa's if you want. There are nearly 200 examples to choose from.
America, if it has the political will, can do anything it wants. But there is no political will to significantly change US Health Care. By "Political Will" I'm referring to a national consensus, such as one that existed in the race to the moon. Broad public support, and bicameral support.
Without the support of the Insurance Industry, there is no hope of any form of Health Care reform in America, so the fact that the Industry "liked" ObamaCare is a given; if they didn't, it wouldn't have made it past the first mumbles (see "Clinton Health Care" attempt of the 90's).
A properly working public Health Care system requires constant attention to monitor and improve it. Where such programs fail is when the monitoring and adjustment fails. A public system must be nimble and be willing to change to improve on a more-or-less-permanent basis. Without that, it will fail.
There is no lack of news articles critical of any working Public System. Where the mistake is made is when this is held up as an example of it's failure. It's an example of it's success, or more precisely, an example of the process ... the kind of scrutiny necessary in order to direct the constant tweaking and improvement necessary in a working system. Without it, the system will fail.
If you read that carefully, you will realize that under no circumstances could a US Public System actually work beyond possibly State-wide only. A Federal System will be under constant pressure by whichever party doesn't support it, and the necessary nimble structure will be used to dismantle it by proxy. Doomed to failure.
So really whether ObamaCare lives or dies is irrelevant, as whatever system exists needs the Insurance Industry support, and since that kills the major cost savings of a Public System, you're done before you begin. You won't ever really have a Public Health Care system.
