The part of the healthcare system that McCain is talking about is the insurance industry. I believe what he wants to do is break down the state barriers that currently exist that prohibit insurance companies from competing on a national scale. I recently looked into insurance for two states - NJ and VA. The amount that people in NJ had to pay was considerably more than a comparable policy in the DC metro area of Virginia. Under McCain's proposal, people from NJ would not be prevented from buying lower cost insurance in another state. It seems intuitively obvious to me and I would think that the burden of proof that their system is best should be on those who think competition should be inhibited as it currently is.

I think the example of deregulation failure in the airline industry is a bit misguided. The problem with the airline industry is that deregulation has been too successful. The effect of deregulation has been to keep the price of an airline ticket so low that, whereas in the days of regulation it was the mode of travel for only the well-to-do, now it is the method of travel for the common man. The resulting increase in demand has resulted in the infrastructure being overly burdened.