House Democrats' ‘Medicare-for-all’ bill would largely outlaw private insurance

[UsualName]

Go to Medicare for all. I'm fine with it. Big savings on the corporate income statement. Those with money will get specialized care either here or elsewhere. Care for the poor will suffer and be rationed, with medical breakthroughs on the paid service level.

Like everything else that government touches, it'll be ripe for corruption and inefficiency, and the policy will explode in the end and be financially unsustainable.

Bring it on. I'm in the sweet spot to benefit immensely from this.

Not toward you directly but Medicare is the most efficient heath insurer in America, that includes the fraud.

Another point about cost, we spend more than 16% of our gdp on healthcare. That’s almost $10k for every American yet we have a lower life expectancy than our European counterparts.

In comParison the UK spends about 10% gdp and Israel 8% gdp.

As Americans, we are getting ripped off by health insurance companies and especially prescription drug makers.

 

[piezoe]

Obama and the Democrats never had any intent of seriously pursuing single payer. From the very beginning they were intent on passing ACA

I have read this elsewhere, and jem has harped on this. I think it is probably mostly true. Probably the real truth is that Obama and the Democrats were intent on getting something passed and willing to make big compromises in order to do that, thinking once they got their foot in the door with some type of comprehensive plan they could fine tune it later. But I think it is also probably true that Obama and many, if not a majority, of House Democrats would have preferred single payer, or at least the public option as originally proposed, had they thought for one moment they could get it through both Houses.

Getting something through both houses became the priority, and in the Senate they had to get past Baucas, a democrat with close ties to the insurance industry. Baucus was situated to single handedly defeat anything not palatable to the Health insurance industry, hence neither single payer nor the public option had a chance of passing both Houses. Even though the Democrats had the votes needed on the Senate floor, Baucas, under Senate rules at the time, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, had the power to kill anything he didn't like. Hence no public option and certainly consideration of single payer was out of the question. Now, Baucas, after he helped make a mess of things, seems to have had a change in Heart. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news...-single-payer-health-care-20170908-story.html

 

[El OchoCinco]

This is interesting, see below. And before you extremists take this off the rails as an argument for or against socialized medicine I am not raising this to discuss socialized medicine or Obama, Trump or AOC, listen to the final point below.

U.S. is 35th below several poorer countries but look at this:

My point, we spend the most per capita and we dont even crack the top 30...we claim to have the best health care system in the world but it is just the most expensive system in the world because we overpay so much for treatments and medicines and receive probably less average standard of care....

Both parties need to realize this is not sustainable and some of the countries on the above lists have far less resources.

 

[piezoe]

I am concerned that my message above has not sunk in quite as I would have hoped. So please forgive me for repeating it:
It would seem too few understand the burden placed on U.S. medical care costs of allowing for-profit companies to siphon off the young and healthy, charge them outrageous premiums, falsify billing by not disclosing discounts negotiated with drug companies and providers, and then dump the aged, sick and dying on the public system. Remember that because of the McCarran–Ferguson Act, insurers are exempt from Dept of Commerce Regulation that would otherwise prevent acting in restraint of trade, and depending on the state they operate in, they don't have to publicly disclose certain costs. They are exempt from most anti-trust laws.

 

[Banjo]

I am concerned that my message above has not sunk in quite as I would have hoped. So please forgive me for repeating it:
It would seem too few understand the burden placed on U.S. medical care costs of allowing for-profit companies to siphon off the young and healthy, charge them outrageous premiums, falsify billing by not disclosing discounts negotiated with drug companies and providers, and then dump the aged, sick and dying on the public system. Remember that because of the McCarran–Ferguson Act, insurers are exempt from Dept of Commerce Regulation that would otherwise prevent acting in restraint of trade, and depending on the state they operate in, they don't have to publicly disclose certain costs. They are exempt from most anti-trust laws.

Absolutely agree, IMO it's a direct reflection on how corrupt we've become.

 

[Banjo]

This is interesting, see below. And before you extremists take this off the rails as an argument for or against socialized medicine I am not raising this to discuss socialized medicine or Obama, Trump or AOC, listen to the final point below.

U.S. is 35th below several poorer countries but look at this:

My point, we spend the most per capita and we dont even crack the top 30...we claim to have the best health care system in the world but it is just the most expensive system in the world because we overpay so much for treatments and medicines and receive probably less average standard of care....

Both parties need to realize this is not sustainable and some of the countries on the above lists have far less resources.

 

[Tsing Tao]

Not toward you directly but Medicare is the most efficient heath insurer in America, that includes the fraud.

Can you show what you mean by this? IE, I'm not sure what criteria you are using to judge as "efficient".

Another point about cost, we spend more than 16% of our gdp on healthcare. That’s almost $10k for every American yet we have a lower life expectancy than our European counterparts.

In comParison the UK spends about 10% gdp and Israel 8% gdp.

As Americans, we are getting ripped off by health insurance companies and especially prescription drug makers.

There's no doubt we're being ripped off. When you can get the same medicine in Europe for 1/10th the price?

 

[Banjo]

I have a brother in law in Valencia Spain. He spends time with us and calls the U.S. shit eaters,lol. They eat more shit food than anyplace he's ever been. He's a renowned architect and gets around the planet.

 

[elderado]

Go to Medicare for all. I'm fine with it. Big savings on the corporate income statement. Those with money will get specialized care either here or elsewhere. Care for the poor will suffer and be rationed, with medical breakthroughs on the paid service level.

Like everything else that government touches, it'll be ripe for corruption and inefficiency, and the policy will explode in the end and be financially unsustainable.

Bring it on. I'm in the sweet spot to benefit immensely from this.

Yeah. You know what? Poor people can't afford to have children and take care of them. So why not institute mandatory birth control until you reach a certain wage amount? Why should we have to work to pay for poor people's health care?

Taxed enough already.

 

[El OchoCinco]

I have a brother in law in Valencia Spain. He spends time with us and calls the U.S. shit eaters,lol. They eat more shit food than anyplace he's ever been. He's a renowned architect and gets around the planet.

One aspect of the healthy factors for the ranking was diet and for sure most of Europe and Asia eat far healthier than us (i.e. Mediterranean Diet of fish, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil ). In parts of Asia and Europe it is changing as they become Americanized...