I haven't see Sicko yet, but this is the thing which really gets me when Very Smart Wonky Technorats, and Very Serious People like Joe Klein start talking about some sort of universal health care plan. They can't seem to get away from the idea that it has to be complicated. They feel the need to make it complex. It has to be hard somehow. It's why I just go crazy when people start talking about "universal mandates" and whatnot, coming up with some system which forces everyone to sign up and pay for health insurance.
Just mail them a card and they're signed up, it's that simple.
To be clear, it isn't that I think a major overhaul of the health care system wouldn't be a complex undertaking, it's that there's no reason it needs to be a complex undertaking for individuals. It's like we're trained to think that health insurance has to be some giant pain in the ass.
