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50 years? Ok then. Why can cash-only clinics function on a fraction of the cost? Billing to insurance is a big cost to a practitioner. Why do care providers routinely overprescribe diagnostics? Defensive Medicine and our lawsuit culture. Why are drug prices so high? We function as an ATM so everyone else gets better prices, which sucks but isn’t all bad.
Address these, please, before you put all these on the public dime. Our healthcare has dysfunctions NOT automatically solved by UHC.
Solve those prerequisites and I may not vote for it, but I’ll stand silent.
Don’t make me pay for the dumb parts of healthcare as I already am, but then put it in the hands of the famously incompetent DC bureaucrats.
No reason to think it would get cheaper just because we adopted UHC. As per my previous post, there’s a lot of cost-cutting to be done before we should even think about this.
Cost cutting would certainly happen with UHC. Most countries with UHC spend a lower % of their GDP on healthcare compared to the USA.
We would be cutting out all of the “middle men” (the insurance companies) that add no actual value to the healthcare system. Reducing the amount of rent seeking in a society is always good. Naturally the rent seekers will do everything they can do to keep their racket going. They’ll bribe (contribute to the political campaigns of) as many politicians as they have to.
You are presenting a stark choice as if it is your way or the highway.
We do need universal health care but if you look around the world there are about 60 countries that have guaranteed universal health care for their citizens, only a handful use a single-payer system, meaning there are plenty of methods besides single-payer.
Countries like Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Switzerland have very good universal healthcare models that are adaptable to the U.S. system, as they rely on a private-public hybrid insurance framework that the U.S. already uses.
No two countries deliver UHC the same way. The two characteristics they share are the individual mandate and subsidy for low/ no income people.
The Swiss, for example, rely entirely on private insurance, cradle to grave. Most hospitals are public.
Germany has the oldest healthcare system and mostly operate with public insurance with private insurance used to help pay for that which public insurance does not. Employers share in the cost of public insurance. Most hospitals are public.
South Korea operates with a Single Payer Model. Most hospitals and doctors are private.
And then there Japan’s Single Payer model layered on top of private hospitals and medical practices. Japan that embraces poly hospitals- very small highly specialized hospitals owned by doctors.
All these systems are in some stage of financial collapse, because of medical inflation and soaring costs and they do not experience anywhere near the violence that results in hospital admissions the US does.
Pharma is another aspect of healthcare costs. One of the ways these countries control these costs is simply not prescribing to the extent the US does, including formulations. Why prescribe 15 mg of ABC when it has been termined 10 mg has the same outcome in most patients. These countries are not as nearly beholden to Big Pharma as the US is.
Cost cutting would certainly happen with UHC. Most countries with UHC spend a lower % of their GDP on healthcare compared to the USA.
We would be cutting out all of the “middle men” (the insurance companies) that add no actual value to the healthcare system. Reducing the amount of rent seeking in a society is always good. Naturally the rent seekers will do everything they can do to keep their racket going. They’ll bribe (contribute to the political campaigns of) as many politicians as they have to.
a true singlepayer...will cost 7+ trillion annually..and will be on the backs of the taxpayers
I have no idea what Single Payer would cost. I do know we could bankrupt Jeff Bezos personal wealth and not make a dent in it.
Unless/ until US people take more personal responsibility for their own health, costs will not decline.
That 75% of us are overweight/ obese means most of us are substantially more vulnerable to otherwise preventable disease, one- third of the US population is Diabetic or pre- Diabetic. One- third !
High cholesterol,blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, some cancers and joint deterioration are all amplified by excess weight. And then we have the audacity to complain about healthcare costs.
Japan cut their obesity rate to 3.5%. Compare that to 40% in the US. Everyone must submit to an annual waist measure. Those with waist sizes greater than the healthy range are required to submit to counseling. Employers are required to do the measuring for employees. Employers are given annual goals to reduce waist sizes by x% or pay higher rates into the Sickness Fund.
The US could cover the entire cost of healthcare for right- sized households and save money. The rest could pay premiums on a sliding fee schedule based on surplus weight. This would need to include Medicare, Medicaid, VA/ tri are etc, too.
Provide the incentive to right size. Those who choose np not to eithnpay more or do without.What kind of healthcare system covers “ My 600 Pound Lifers” and charges premiums to those who make better choice?
BTW, I agree with the OP that this is the end of the line but for another reason.
Medical capacity has been cut in NYC since the early 2000s largely to control costs, which private entities have to do. If the government was running it, the number of doctors, hospital beds, etc, that are needed could be determined by scientists who advise public policy makers.
You're right about one think, private healthcare tries to control costs.
If you're middle-class, be prepared to see a large portion of your paycheck taken for national healthcare.
I hope you're ready to pay for the millions of illegals with chronic conditions to stream here to absorb your money.
I have no idea what Single Payer would cost. I do know we could bankrupt Jeff Bezos personal wealth and not make a dent in it.
Unless/ until US people take more personal responsibility for their own health, costs will not decline.
That 75% of us are overweight/ obese means most of us are substantially more vulnerable to otherwise preventable disease, one- third of the US population is Diabetic or pre- Diabetic. One- third !
High cholesterol,blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, some cancers and joint deterioration are all amplified by excess weight. And then we have the audacity to complain about healthcare costs.
Japan cut their obesity rate to 3.5%. Compare that to 40% in the US. Everyone must submit to an annual waist measure. Those with waist sizes greater than the healthy range are required to submit to counseling. Employers are required to do the measuring for employees. Employers are given annual goals to reduce waist sizes by x% or pay higher rates into the Sickness Fund.
The US could cover the entire cost of healthcare for right- sized households and save money. The rest could pay premiums on a sliding fee schedule based on surplus weight. This would need to include Medicare, Medicaid, VA/ tri are etc, too.
Provide the incentive to right size. Those who choose np not to eithnpay more or do without.What kind of healthcare system covers “ My 600 Pound Lifers” and charges premiums to those who make better choice?
Billing costs for practices in part are so high because medical billing is a disastrous cluster****. Going to UHC would eliminate most of those problems and billing costs for practices would fall substantially. With UHC, you only have one billing standard, and you know the government is going to pay.
Yeah, and you will be treated by your govt worker doctor. Think of DMV employees and you will get the equivalent of medical care. These docs will make the same pay if they are specialists or drop outs. No incentive to be better than the next guy. That is what you will get. No thanks, Healthcare is not a right. Never has been. You get what you pay for.
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