The problem of monopoly is very real and deserves attention. The president's proposal that tax programs—which likely would favor public-payer entities by presenting initially attractive economic enticements to business to select a tax over the cost of private premiums—is a track toward an irreversible public replacement for the current Alabama dilemma regarding Blue Cross.
Competition with a government that can use the force of law and pricing—tax structures subject to change and shift at will—is not the answer. Legal challenges to the status quo in Alabama are better than a global mistake that begs the same outcome.
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