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A problem we didn't have? Tell that to all the non middle class or rich who couldn't get care, or the people with pre-existing conditions that no insurance company wanted to cover. That's 10's of millions of people who certainly had a problem.....
The VAST majority of the people in this country were covered voluntarily by their employers, most of the ones who weren't were on Medicare/Medicaid/Some other form of state assistance. It was a relatively small # of people who had problems with the individual market which could have been fixed with more market base solutions opening up laws to allow people to bargain in large groups/allowing insurers to sell across state lines. The remaining people w/o insurance should have looked for solutions at the state level. It's not and shouldnt be the job of the federal government. A one sized fits all solution for people in Rural Wyoming & New York City alike makes no sense. Federalism works.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cttransplant85
The VAST majority of the people in this country were covered voluntarily by their employers, most of the ones who weren't were on Medicare/Medicaid/Some other form of state assistance. It was a relatively small # of people who had problems with the individual market which could have been fixed with more market base solutions opening up laws to allow people to bargain in large groups/allowing insurers to sell across state lines. The remaining people w/o insurance should have looked for solutions at the state level. It's not and shouldnt be the job of the federal government. A one sized fits all solution for people in Rural Wyoming & New York City alike makes no sense. Federalism works.
A lot of the working poor don't get employer provided insurance, "selling insurance across state lines" is a useless platitude if not an outright canard, and private companies would never willingly give coverage to people with "pre-existing conditions", as they would consider them too much of a risk. Get your head into reality and out of your ideology
The VAST majority of the people in this country were covered voluntarily by their employers, most of the ones who weren't were on Medicare/Medicaid/Some other form of state assistance. It was a relatively small # of people who had problems with the individual market which could have been fixed with more market base solutions opening up laws to allow people to bargain in large groups/allowing insurers to sell across state lines. The remaining people w/o insurance should have looked for solutions at the state level. It's not and shouldnt be the job of the federal government. A one sized fits all solution for people in Rural Wyoming & New York City alike makes no sense. Federalism works.
If it was working as well as you claim, it would not be an issue, and no, there were, and are, many people who are not covered by anything.
I am sick to death of people saying that what every other civilized country on earth manages to do is somehow impossible to accomplish here. If we really are the brightest, best nation in the history of ever, we should be able to figure out how to make this work. The only reason we have not is because too many Americans have an irrational fear of anything they consider socialism. It offends their concept of "American exceptionalism."
What we have right now is "exceptional" all right, although not in any kind of good way.
We are one of the very few countries that don't have universal healthcare. Every other country is a leader in this. Why are we so behind when we are supposed to be the "leader" of the world.
Because not enough Americans pay federal income tax. 45% of tax filers pay no federal income tax. Therefore, there's not enough tax revenue to fund it.
Implementing a 25% VAT tax (like many European countries have) on all consumer goods would fund it, but Americans won't go for that.
That's why we can't have nice things, like universal healthcare.
Most people don't have thousands of dollars of cold hard cash on hand, and doc's aren't going to take a pay cut without kicking and screaming so your solution is unrealistic
If you hacked off all the govt tenticles entwined in the differing layers of health care, prices would fall and great advancements would be made, just as seen with TV's, computers, cell phones, appliances...
Its almost comical, every sector the government butts into, prices rise astronomically, and yet here we have both teams arguing for more government in health care. Talk about voting against your own self interests
Because not enough Americans pay federal income tax. 45% of tax filers pay no federal income tax. Therefore, there's not enough tax revenue to fund it.
Implementing a 25% VAT tax (like many European countries have) on all consumer goods would fund it, but Americans won't go for that.
That's why we can't have nice things, like universal healthcare.
Which is why it should be a payroll tax that all workers pay into. Universal care WITH COPAYS AND DEDUCTIBLES. There SHOULD be some pain in having medical done. It simply should not be crushing or bankrupting. Say something along the line of 2500 ind /5000 family max per year.
We dont allow the govt to negotiate drug prices means Americans subsidize the world. We allow hedge fund managers to buy exclusive rights to non patented drugs. We allow not in network docs into in network facilities to charge whatever they want in an emergency situation that does not allow for shopping around.
Location: Born in L.A. - NYC is Second Home - Rustbelt is Home Base
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OP...US is a capitalist country , not a socialized one. They have no idea how to run a socialized health based US plan. We also have incompetent politicians that could never run it.
Do you notice how they always call it single payer? They try to sugar coat it to avoid saying socialized healthcare. Socialized healthcare is always shot down as communism.
With capitalism our current healthcare 'plan' is what the US has developed over the decades. Profit is king! Just how it is. Best you can hope for in US is to not get too sick. Our healthcare will keep skyrocketing from greed and mismanagement.
I've written on this topic extensively. Only thing that would work in US is...
Socialized plan + keeping the current plan. Just like our educational system.
Rich don't want socialized, hospitals don't want socialized, but average person can't afford rich plan. You need health plans for both.
...you will never get it.
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