There is a FUNDAMENTAL difference between (what Public Economists call) PUBLIC  and Private goods. A 'private' good is akin to (for simplicity) a the purchase of a loaf of bread. When you purchase it you have exclusive ownership of it. In the case of a 'public' good (for example, a public park or a public library) you cannot have exclusive 'ownership' of such but you can only share in its usage. Free markets are NOT good at providing public goods - due  to what is termed 'free-rider effect'.  That is why it is up to governments to provide 'public' goods (through the collective utilization of taxes). The problem with the GOP/TP approach to healthcare is that they view it as a 'private' good.  But, so long as citizens can go to the emergency room and be treated and those costs are passed on to the rest of us (through increased healthcare costs) that subverts the fundamental concepts of 'free-market'. -No other developed nation views  the provision of healthcare as a private good. Period.