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Can somebody please tell me how our current health care system represents a free market economy?

I hear all these concerns from people concerned about changes to the health care system and i really wonder .....Why? This question is specific to telling me how our healthcare is free market. Please focus your answer on this issue. I already understand the pros and cons of some of the proposed changes. I want an answer on WHAT WE HAVE NOW. I say our current health care system is far from free market. At work, i have ONE option for healthcare as do most small businesses. This one healthcare option dictates the doctors I can go to. They also dictate how much they will pay for procedures. When i get services, I have no idea what it will cost BEFORE I get the service (unlike everything else you purchase in this world. I may know what the fair and reasonable costs that are covered are if I spend a significant amount of time researching each item, but, I still don't know how much out of pocket I will be paying. Each year the costs go up and still I don't have any free market ability to another plan. And, If I leave my job, I have to change health plans, maybe be forced to change doctors (or pay more for my same doctor just because I changed jobs). I also have to restart a new deductible if I change jobs. So, please explain to me our free market health care system.

Public Comments

1. The health care system that we currently have is far from perfect but it is better than it will be if the government gets more involved. The issues that you have pointed out are the biggest downfall of the current system. Health insurance should be run the same as auto insurance with many companies competing for business. Health care should not be tied to your job. It simply doesn't make sense. If most people want to keep employers responsible, it should be revised for employers to designate a certain amount or percentage of wage above current wages for each employee to use for health care. The employee would then be able to spend that money anywhere they want to spend it.
2. Take my word, at the other end (doctors and hospitals) it doesn't in any way resemble a free market, either. As long as the proposed channges don't further limit the ability of people to opt for private care, the entire argument is a tempest in a teapot, just moving from one system of cost-shifting to another.
3. The one portion that could be considered "Free Market" is the ability of Employers (especially large Corporations) to choose the Insurance Carrier. For example an Employer who is insured by United Health Care can decide to not renew that contract and switch to CIGNA.