An open and free marketplace is not logical, especially without strict regulation that would, in essence, make it the ACA. An open and free marketplace may be great for those individuals who can afford better coverage at higher rates. What this creates, however, are companies offering DISCOUNT DISCOUNT DISCOUNT plans yet terrible coverage and service. They are simply going to take advantage of the open marketplace to trick those who cannot afford better coverage into bad service and bad coverage. The ACA currently mitigates this by placing regulations on what companies can and can't do. You also ignore the millions of people with access to better healthcare under the ACA, thus allowing them to receive the care they need, thus mitigating some of the workforce loss due to ailments. But that's not economics, is it? Or perhaps that's a little bit too upper division for you. Capitalism and open marketplaces are great in principle but they simple do not function