Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Only the free market will ever bring down healthcare costs. Let that one sink in.
Total BS. You must be young, or otherwise uninformed.
We had that for most of my life and it never worked, not in any one year ever. Healthcare costs skyrocketed at rates much higher than today, which is what drove this nation to look for another solution.
We are actually the only advanced nation without some type of national health care program, and all of the other nations were driven to that expedient because of the very same forces driving healthcare costs upward. Every one.
As a result, we have been and remain the most expensive advanced nation to get sick in, the very most expensive. A comprehensive national health care plan, such as Israel has, such as Germany has, would improve our situation considerably. It doesn't have to be Medicare for all, we can craft it differently, but returning to a totally free market system is a non-starter, and a death sentence for many.
We had that for most of my life and it never worked. Healthcare costs skyrocketed at rates much higher than today, which is what drove this nation to find another solution.
unless you were born before 1933, you never experienced true freemarket health care
I think he is underestimating it. You are paying $230 a month because your employer is paying at least $800-1200 a month. $17,000 - $20,000 a year is about right. Employers footing the bill for the bulk of insurance premiums had made people blind to its real cost, as has insurance made people blind to the real cost of treatment and medications. My guess is, if we get single payer or medicaid for all, that employers will start out offering allowances as part of compensation... and then the government will get to tax it as income. No matter what, the middle and upper economic classes are going to end up forking out more money.
I'm aware of this. That's how it's supposed to work. You get a good job, contribute to society, and are rewarded with good health insurance. Of course they pay more of the bill.
Healthcare is not a right, access to it is.
I don't want government run crap, my insurance is excellent.
Middle class would be crushed under this plan. People don't realize that middle class people for the most part have health insurance. Just as they have a house and 2 cars and kids.
So why is there so little focus on the actual cost of health care and so much focus on the cost of health insurance?
We'd be better off trying to control the price of care than bickering about who pays for it and how.
Example:
Imagining technology such as an MRI has been around for decades.... But a simple scan that takes all of 15 minutes and is preformed by techs who don't make anywhere close to what doctors make still costs thousands of dollars....often just under what many people's deductibles are, so the patient ends up paying the entire cost of such a test.....and that probably discourages many people from getting a scan when they should.
And in just about any other industry, the cost of technology goes down over time...... sometimes quite dramatically.
But for some reason, this never seems to be the case in health care.
Why?
The technology used yesterday won't perform the exams that are being ordered today. MRI and CT scanners have dramatically changed in the past couple of decades. They get faster with the scanning and higher resolution images now. That's why your scan that used to take an hour only takes 15 minutes now. The high cost is due to research to find the improvements.
I'd bet his figures are spread out over all working couples.
Take away the couples who have low income and pay little taxes and I'd wager that figure is 2 to 3 times his estimate.
Throw in all the illegals who can step foot in the US and the costs will be off the charts.
Add in increased demand for healthcare and take away competitive downward pressure on prices and the price skyrockets even more. My bet is that it would lead to price controls and ultimately shortages. Tens of millions of people have healthcare plans completely covered by their employers. Those people are going to be pissed. Such a bad idea.
There's more than enough money in the US medical system already to pay for medicare for all twice over. If you're raising taxes, odds are good you're doing it wrong. Lack of money isn't the problem.
There's more than enough money in the US medical system already to pay for medicare for all twice over. If you're raising taxes, odds are good you're doing it wrong. Lack of money isn't the problem.
Truth is finally out, you pay more taxes, nothing is really free.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.