I haven't received any death threats for my Bugatti comment! I don't have much formal education on the health care industry, aside from what would carryover from P&C. @Kerfluffles in that NYT opinion article true he says most companies are self-insured. Is that true, and if so, is the right that most health insurers are just processing bills (i.e. claims)?
Why couldn't the government do that - standardize all the forms, codes, etc. And if companies are self-insuring anyways, what's the difference between that and the government paying for things with tax money, and the employers paying employees more directly (instead of premium credits).
The system would be more efficient - less overhead, more efficient processes - save dat money. Let's provide health care to everyone.