If it's free, then you are the product

* That health insurance is tied to your job. If you leave your job you lose coverage making it harder to switch jobs than necessary. A system where part of the payment goes via taxes means unemployed people are still insured while not bankrupting them.

* As a small business, LWN is not in a position to negotiate as good premiums as larger businesses.

* As a large purchaser of health care, a government entity is in a position to tell the health providers where to go when they start charging exorbitant prices.

There are hybrid models, where health care is partially funded by a payroll tax, and partially direct premiums from people. It's not where the money comes from that makes the difference, it's the whole landscape around it.