> Should this also be the case for food, housing, and cell phones? If not, why?

Because the heart transplant for your child, or elderly care of your mom, or your cancer treatment is not like a cell phone. Or is it? It is for me at least. Is that something that needs to be explained?

Single payer systems are not hypothetical utopia / sci-fi scenarios. This is already happening in many countries where people are happier and live longer.

Do you have any examples where healthcare regulated like cell phones with a good outcome?

Surely if it is such a great system, someone would have stumbled on it.

I have examples of where it is regulated like the cell phone and it doesn't work -- pretty much any third world country where regulatory agencies are practically not functional. There you go to to the doctor to get a shot of antibiotic, instead you get a shot of saline. Because antiobiotic shots cost money. Etc.

Because those are things that are an actual market. Health care often times isn't. You can choose what grocery store you go to, what apartment you rent, what cell phone you buy. Usually, unless your planning sucked, you have days/weeks/months to figure out what is good value, and compare prices, that kinda thing.

Health care, on the other hand, can be, and at least in my case, usually is, a monopoly. I've got 1 large company that runs most of the doctors offices and all of the hospitals in the area, so they don't have many competitors. Also, for emergency stuff, you don't have a chance to even think about shopping around. Broke a bone? Yeah, sounds like a great time to pull out the phone and shop around for doctors that would be able to set it for cheaper.

The very obvious difference is negotiation.

If you had a gunshot wound that needed treating, and you arrive at the hospital to find today only they are charging 1 million dollars for bullet removal (what a coincidence), but the hospital one state over was doing bullet removals for only 100,000$ - are you in a position to negotiate? Is there any reason at all that this hospital would lower its price to match its competition? (as would happen in a competitive market)

Now flip it and say instead of a gunshot you broke your cellphone. You arrive at best buy and they say today only the iphone costs 1 million dollars, but a store one state over has it for 600 - are you in a position to negotiate? Is there any reason at all best buy would lower its price to match the competition? In fact, this happens every day at most every major retailer.