I have been following the health care (or health insurance) debate for a while, and have been trying to come up with a solution.  I think I have it at last.  As a number of people have rightly noted, we don't have a health care problem in the United States, we have a health insurance problem.  Everyone gets care in an emergency, but not everyone pays for it.  I have to begin by saying that I am one of those folks that think the federal government started this mess in the first place by imposing wage controls in the 30's and thus starting the whole "employer paid health care" trend.  If individuals were still responsible for paying their medical bills, I believe things would be much simpler. 

But they aren't and so here we are.  My belief is that we are looking at health insurance the wrong way.  People are looking at health insurance the way they look at auto insurance or homeowners insurance.  In both those cases, you pay a premium that is based on a number of risk factors...but you are paying for insurance hoping that you will never need to use it.  Since the number of people paying into these policies is large, and the actual number of claims is (relatively) low, the premiums are also relatively low. 

Health insurance is not that way.  Health insurance is much more like life insurance.  People buy life insurance knowing that they will use it eventually or, in the case of term insurance, to protect from a possible major expense.  You can buy life insurance at any time.  But the amount you will pay is based on your age when you first buy the policy.  Wait longer, pay more.  Health insurance is very similar.  We will all have to use it at sometime baring a sudden unforseen end.  The older are more likely to use it sooner than the younger.  Some people have conditions that make it more likely that they will use it. 

The solution to our health insurance problem then is that we price health insurance like life insurance.  If you buy your policy young you pay less...but you pay over a longer period.  If you wait, you pay more.  There would have to be some tweaks, to allow portability when changing jobs for example.  But those could all be handled by the market, and would be simplified by phasing out group health plans. 

I've tried thinking of objections.  I know people will ask "what about people with pre-existing conditions?  Again, I refer to the life insurance model....parents could buy policies for infants, to ensure their insurability later in life.  If a child is born with a pre-existing condition, there could be an assigned risk pool.  The premiums would be higher, but they should be based on the probability of an increased cost of care.  Increasing rates?  Nope, rates would be set from the beginning...maybe include a provision for inflationary increases, but nothing else.

I honestly don't see the pitfalls...but I'm sure someone will point them out to me.  I'm all ears...otherwise, let's start spreading the word.