What would "Medicare for All" look like? (unemployment rate, health care, suspected)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"What would "Medicare for All" look like?"

For most people with ailments, it would be a disaster dealing with the bureaucracy. Today, people insured privately can customize their coverage to meet their needs. Under medicare, there would be death panels.

Back when we had real humor and political correctness had not raised its ugly head, there was a Hispanic comedian playing the first Mexican Astronaut. A reporter asked Jose Jimenez what he though about being in the nose cone of a rocket with about a million pounds of explosive fuel under him.

Jose said, "Don' let dem do dis to me."

That's how most Americans feel about medicare. They want no part of it unless they have a long term debilitating illness that is incurable.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by ukrkoz

As a Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist with 25 yrs in the field, I can say 2 things:
1. Medicare went from the best insurance for my type of patients, to the most hard to work with. In about last 8 years.
2. MANY doctors office stopped taking Medicare patients.

Originally Posted by engineman

When fewer young people elect to become doctors, you get a shortage, then the line to get treatment gets many times longer.

Some years ago I went to an Ophthalmologist for eye surgery. He said "lets do it Thursday".
Toots, our Canadian snowbird neighbor had gone to her doctor in Ontario and he said "I will put you on the list, your turn will come up in about a year".

I know a lot of doctors have stopped taking Medicare patients. But if that is all there is, then I don't see how doctor's incomes will not suffer. And if their income suffers, so does their interest in medicine.
Service would vary a lot from area to area, just like VA care varies.
I don't think most people realize that Medicare costs money. Those of us on Social Security have it taken right out of our checks, and I think that would be the case nationwide; your premium comes right out of your check.
Also, I think a lot of people think that everything is covered under Medicare. That's wrong, too. There will be a copay and to escape the copay you would have to do what we do - buy a supplement.
I have no idea what the premium would be, but there would be one, and NO ONE with a job is going to get it free. I think I see sort of a sliding premium in the works.
There are 150 million jobs in the US, serving a working age population of 207 million people. (Not everyone can work or wants to work) Other then those two raw numbers I have no way to calculate what Medicare for All will cost. Should we call it M4A?


One thing Obama care did, is it "taught" the American public that "the government" is responsible for some program that is going to solve the health care question for everyone in America. One way or the other, it's now "the government's" responsibility. And it will never go back to the way it was.


Another thought: Whatever happens to the insurance industry as a result of this possible takeover - GOOD! They had it coming. They acted like Mafioso gangs splitting up territories and attempting to deny coverage for people who needed them.

[Rivertowntalk]

Hospitals would close as Medicare payments don't cover the the total cost incurred by the hospitals for providing the Medicare services today. Hospitals rely on higher commercial insurance payments to cover Medicare and Medicaid losses today. As it is, if you have commercial insurance through an employer or otherwise, a large portion of your premiums are effectively a tax to covered Medicare and Medicaid program losses. With Medicare for all, you would have "insurance" without access to care, or rationed care, that would leave you feeling like you have no insurance coverage at all. Many feel that way already because the physicians don't want to take Medicare today because of low Medicare payments.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

"What would "Medicare for All" look like?"

For most people with ailments, it would be a disaster dealing with the bureaucracy. Today, people insured privately can customize their coverage to meet their needs. Under medicare, there would be death panels.

Back when we had real humor and political correctness had not raised its ugly head, there was a Hispanic comedian playing the first Mexican Astronaut. A reporter asked Jose Jimenez what he though about being in the nose cone of a rocket with about a million pounds of explosive fuel under him.

Jose said, "Don' let dem do dis to me."

That's how most Americans feel about medicare. They want no part of it unless they have a long term debilitating illness that is incurable.

..... I remember that! "Yeah, it has two pair of pants".

The comedian was Bill Dana.
He actually wasn't Hispanic. He was Jewish.

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

So, what about those of us currently using Medicare? We both have paid into it for 45 years. And, now, we pay for both Medicare ($135/month) plus a supplement. Will those who advocate for Medicare for all putting it under the same plan? If it is free or close to free, who is going to pay?

That's like me. Those of us who are at Medicare age have PAID into it all their lives and we still PAY premiums and we PAY co-payments. It's not FREE. We already bought it and paid for years. And we still pay every single month.

But it's a decent health plan for us. However, it's not fair to offer Medicare to young people who never PAID in. Everyone is going to have to PAY and probably it would be taken out of the pay check just as health insurance is today. It would delete the insurance companies! The money would go straight into Medicare or whatever they decide to call it.

It's good to get rid of the health insurance industry. They try to boss the doctors around by denying treatment to people because they don't want to pay. I think the amount that everyone has taken from their paycheck would be on a sliding scale.

(What would happen to Medicaid, the health insurance for low income people? That's probably the best insurance because it's free. Maybe Medicaid would be part of the sliding scale, part of the Medicare for All or whatever they will call it.)

I just think it's stupid to call it Medicare for All because Medicare is for people over age 65 who contributed to it all their lives. There would have to be different forms of Medicare depending on age probably. Our payment is automatically taken from our Social Security check. People under age 65 would have their premium taken from their paycheck, just as they do now, but the payment wouldn't go to a private insurance company.

Actually, the way ObamaCare was supposed to work would probably be best. It just needs to bypass the greedy insurance companies. It needs to be more like Medicare. Those of us who are over 65 paid into a health insurance company and paid into Medicare, both. So people under 65 would simply pay into the one plan (whatever they are going to call it--Medicare for All or Affordable Care or American Health Plan)--call it something, but younger people would pay in and it wouldn't be free. Nothing is free. But you would have health insurance even if you lost your job and if you changed jobs, you would still have exactly the same health insurance you had at your old job. AND, as with Medicare, you can pay more and buy extra.

So...you'd pay your health insurance premium out of your paycheck but it would go into the new plan, what ever it is called. Maybe the employer pays part of it.

What everyone would have is BASIC HEALTH INSURANCE. No one would get zapped with $5000 for some procedure--it would be covered. You would be paying for health insurance out of your paycheck, just as you do now but everyone would be equal. IF you wanted extra benefits, you would buy an extra plan to go on top of it. If you could afford it, you could buy Cadillac benefits.

In the UK the money comes from a high sales tax and I think some comes from your paycheck too. They love their health care though. Everyone is covered. Now, if you want something more than basic, you have a choice of extra health insurance plans that you can buy. With the extra coverage, your elective surgery could happen right away instead of having to wait. Important surgery would take place immediately.

The beauty of it is that every American citizen has health coverage come Hell or high water! No worries. People would not resent other people who have health insurance because everyone would be equal. All Americans would be covered, cheap or free if you are very low income, higher premiums according to income, and extra stuff if you want to pay extra.

Eliminate the middle man=the insurance company bureaucracy.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

I know a lot of doctors have stopped taking Medicare patients.

...

Let's just start with your first paragraph: Is that true? Or is it true that 93% of primary care physicians accept Medicare – roughly the same percentage who take private insurance?

[kokonutty]

It would look a lot like what Medicare looks like now except it would cover those of all ages; it is not a "one size fits all" program. Medicare Advantage programs allow participants to choose the level of care they desire and the level of copayments and maximums they are comfortable with. Costs vary according to the amount of coverage desired.

Some Advantage plans are HMOs and some are PPOs or another variety of care. Some require preapprovals, others do not. Some include prescription drug coverage, dental care, eye care and hearing care. Durable medical goods are covered at different levels in different plans but there is always basic Medicare that provides basic needs and has become a strong supporter of preventive medicine and consistent care.

In other words, people with a Medicare Advantage policy, "can customize their coverage to meet their needs," precisely what someone at the top of the page tries to scare us into believing would be impossible. The same person also repeats the same old scare story of "death panels" which, try as I might, I can find no indication of in either my "Medicare & You" government handbook or my Advantage policy "Evidence of Coverage."

But I'm not here to play politics, simply to answer the question asked.

[sheena12]

What would Medicare for all look like?

Let's see... EVERY OTHER FIRST WORLD COUNTRY in the DEVELOPED WORLD.

We need to do this!

[Ron61]

Seriously, people are actually in favor of their government having access to your health care records? And are OK with the government having control of your treatment? People are actually willing to allow the government to know things about them that have always been considered private?

I want government out of my life, not controlling more of it than they already do. Sorry, but I find it nothing short of astounding that so many are willing to trade their privacy in exchange for free or nearly free health care.

You do realize don’t you that none of are going to live forever in this mortal shell, don’t you?

[Bygeorge]

Medicare for all would come with requirements you betcha. No gun ownership. No smoking. Mandated exercise with a block warden. Mandatory weight loss. Too many children then required abortion. No opioids for that back pain. Naturopathic gets equal access to the treasury. The addicted derelict or the murdering thug gets same access as Mr. Rogers as does every illegal coming across any borders. Taxpayers are already on the hook for any ER care. If you are over a certain age you get little except palliative care and maybe not that. The rich will still have private clinics and unless outlawed there will be more “private” doctors. Concierge doctoring. Nurses and Physician Assistants would be given far more latitude to treat people. You will be assigned a doctor even if they finished last in their class or got their training in the Caribbean or Quack U. Things evolve and rarely for the better.