Walmart offers lessons for market-based health reform

SACRAMENTO – When I needed new glasses, I went to an optometrist for an exam, picked out some dorky black frames, paid my portion and my insurance picked up the rest. Then, by chance, I walked into one of those ubiquitous Walmart optometry centers and realized I could have had the exam and the glasses for little more than the price of the copay. That speaks volumes about our current health system.
When a third party — insurance or government, for instance — pays for something,