Killing off the insurers, my way

This article by Megan McArdle finally prompted me to post my views on fixing our medical insurance infrastructure.

The first thought I've had for a while. The second thought I picked up today, after a conversation with a proponent of the existing reform.

I like Megan's idea of "insurer of last resort" - that is the right thing to do because no matter what, we're not willing to let people simply die. In addition to that:

- prohibit any kind of price differentiation by medical providers. The doctor must set the price for a procedure, and take the same price from all comers (obviously, different doctors will have different prices - no restriction there). We may permit an exception in the form of free treatment. Any attempt by any corporation or organization to get a better price should be punished by stiff fines to both the provider and the corporation. In particular, the government should be prohibited from seeking better prices, even for Medicaid/Medicare.

- The insurers must lose the right to dump people at will. As long as you're paying the premium, you must be able to keep the policy. This applies to COBRA in the first place, but also to all other ways that people get insurance.

These changes will break the monopoly power of insurance companies and will make them more like real insurers rather than employers of doctors.