It isn’t really a debate, I think, everyone seems to get it – it’s too expensive and too many fat cats are making too much money, but it’s not that easy to reform the system as many argue, because reforming something ultimately means that one still accepts the legitimacy and the authority of that which is being reformed. We don’t need a health care reform, we need a health care revolution. I know it’s sounds very pathos-filled, but it’s not if “revolution” is a simple term that indicates losing trust in the system as it exists now, because whether you like it or not, with private health insurance around, it’s not going to change much, too many people are making too much money and they are not going to give up, period.
It’s no wonder then that in the end the insurance companies are going to come out on top (if they haven’t already) – two articles on the matter (educate yourself):
The Health Insurers Have Already Won (Business Week)
Harry and Louise, Closet Socialists (Washington Post)
I say at this point the government should leave insurance industry be and introduce a strong public option – with all the “villainous” practices that insurance industry has invented over the years, people will flock to public option making the final (desirable) transition to the single-payer option more likely. Putting insurance companies out of business is bad, you say? I’d say for a business that does nothing but gamble on people’s health it’s probably unavoidable…
Perverse Egalitarianism 
I say, dump the whole pseudo-gambling system (betting your insurance company that you WILL get sick), and institute a REAL gambling system. A huge lottery. You spin a metaphorical wheel and “get” a specific medical service. For instance, I might have in my possession “Heart By-pass Surgury” and “yearly eye exams” and “50% off insulin”. I then could go on the internet and sell or trade these on ebay with others who have won the lottery for other services. For instance, if got into a car accident and needed a blood transfusion, my doctor could then instant go onto the market and see what the going rate for my portfolio items were, and do a deal for me. I could stock pile certain medical benefits if I saw a social trend coming, like an epidemic, and really strike it rich, and poor people could sell their portfolios just like everone else, like on e-trade. Everyone would be invested in the Healthcare of the country. Whole shows would be dedicated to healthcare, etc. Almost like following sports. Hell, there could be whole heathcare casinos. If you got cancer you could then go to the roulette wheel and place your “free nutricianal advice” and “goitre removal” on black 00 and win a “lifetime radiation treatment”. Ah.
If there was a (honest/decent) public option, it would be much more expensive than private coverage, because private providers wouldn’t sign up bad risks.
I don’t know enough to argue this point, but assuming that it is much more expensive – if this country can maintain two unnecessary wars and spend so much money on defense budget (even before those wars), I’m sure there a way to fund such an important part of citizen’s life as health care. Having volunteers patrol neighborhood is probably much cheaper than establishing a real police force, yet no one really argues for that. Taking care of all old people – Medicare – is more expensive than letting them find their own private insurance, yet no one is seriously considering dropping the program. Why did we get into so much debt over the last 8 years but all of a sudden we are all fiscal conservatives?