It is true that there are things that can be done around the edges to provide better health care to more people. But in this country I cannot envision "functioning individual health insurance market" absent a public plan. There's too much monopoly power, both in terms of the market concentration and in terms of the degree to which health insurance plans lock you in. Health insurers are middle men who make money by not providing payment for services they're supposed to pay for. They're skimmers who provide no useful service.
