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An article on Vermont's attempt at single payer health care. It seems they have alot of nuts and bolts to sort out to make this happen.
Quote:
If everything proceeds as expected, Vermont citizens will be covered by a single-payer health insurance system sometime in 2017. Yep, six years from now.
Major employers such as IBM are more reticent, according to Outterson. "They are worried about the cost and taxes." Financing is a huge unknown, but payroll or income taxes and some pooling of federal funds such as Medicare and Medicaid is expected. In media interviews Gov. Shumlin has expressed a preference for getting the cost containment measures in place first and then turning to the financing issues.
Should there be some concern in Vermont that too many people will move to the state because of this single payer system causing it to get overburdened? Or how about people and businesses leaving the state to avoid the high taxes that will more than likely be needed to fund this system?
Should there be some concern in Vermont that too many people will move to the state because of this single payer system causing it to get overburdened? Or how about people and businesses leaving the state to avoid the high taxes that will more than likely be needed to fund this system?
There should be no concern, other than of people NOT moving to the state but trying to use the state's health care system. Otherwise, the more the tax payers, the merrier it would be for the state's health care system.
As for businesses, it would be a boon and especially for small businesses. For large businesses that can and have provided health insurance, the taxes won't be as high as the premiums to cover an employee are. In other words, savings. A family coverage to a business today costs about $15K or so. In other words, they're spending almost 30% more on an employee making $50K. Trust me, taxes won't be anywhere close to 30% on $50K the company spends on the employee, in fact has a chance to benefit further via credits.
As for complications, EVERY system poses a challenge. To create a new system, using experience gained from similar system worldwide, will indeed require great effort. But those are the "start up" costs, just as those costs are to a business.
Should there be some concern in Vermont that too many people will move to the state because of this single payer system causing it to get overburdened? Or how about people and businesses leaving the state to avoid the high taxes that will more than likely be needed to fund this system?
That's what happened in MASS with Romneycare and HI with their child insurance. The systems became overloaded and underfunded pretty quick and had to freeze new enrollments.
HI had to end it as people dropped the kids from their own insurance and ran to the state.
MA has to borrow $1.5 billion from Uncle Sam to cover their shortfall (over 3 years).
Estimates were only 1/2 of what the actual costs were in 2011.
Two examples of runaway expenses based on government run healthcare.
How much do you think health care, on average, should cost, public or private?
Of course that is unknowable, but it is interesting to note the only market based Medicare solution has come in dramatically under budget. See Medicare Part D.
Otherwise, the more the tax payers, the merrier it would be for the state's health care system.
What makes you think the people who might move there to take advantage of the system will even be paying taxes, or, enough taxes to cover their own expenses? Nearly 50% of Americans pay no income tax at all and another percentage pay less than the typical annual cost of insurance coverage.
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