ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

For some time now, I have been wrestling with the idea of "Universal Healthcare". Being a free market kind of person, I have always felt that a "free market" solution was the best and most cost effective way to solve our health care problem.

I have come to realize a bit late in the game, that the United States no longer operates as a "free market" economy. While we say and think we do, we are really kidding ourselves. Large corporations and government have gotten together and perverted the issue of "free market". We have also gone beyond the point of no return, and the system is incapable of reforming itself, and correcting previous mistakes.

There will be those who say that we cannot afford a "Universal Healthcare" solution. They may be right, but only in the contex that the "black budget" items, military spending/weapons procurement, establishment and maintenance of military bases overseas, spying/surveillance portions of government spending make it impossible to spend money on where it is really needed, healthcare, and social infrastructure improvements and repair.

The most recent health care study published in the Lancet ranked the US 35th in the world compared to other nations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-countries-healthcare.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-nwletter

Clearly, what we have been doing is not working, and we need to re-think and take a new approach to this issue.

Quakerwidow Loc: Chestertown, MD

Welcome aboard.

eden

You are on the right track. If tiny nations like New Zealand can provide access to affordable health care via a Government Public Option that keeps Private Insurers honest then so can the richest nation on earth.

Dummy Boy Loc: Michigan

Very true, all medical care is predicated on treatment, not cures. There is no money in a cure.

MarvinSussman

WHAT DOES OUR CONSTITUTION’S PREAMBLE IMPLY ?


The Preamble to our Constitution urges certain goals to be achieved and secured “to ourselves and to Posterity”. The list includes: “a more perfect Union”, “Justice”, “domestic Tranquility”, “the common defense”, and “the general Welfare”. The list ends with the undefined “Blessings of Liberty”.

But exactly what “Blessings of Liberty” do we give Posterity? Of course, we endow our descendants with our private property but, as a nation, our real gift to Posterity can only be the existence of our public property, our infrastructure, which is everything Posterity will absolutely need to secure all the items listed in the Preamble.

From this we can deduce that our Founders wanted Congress to maximize the amount and the quality of our infrastructure. Indeed, why would the Founders want less than the most and the best infrastructure? Therefore, our Founders wanted Congress to maximize its SPENDING on infrastructure.

So, what is the maximum that Congress can spend while managing a stable economy? We approached that maximum during World War II, which saw a draft into military service of one-eyed men. From that experience, we can deduce that when we see employers desperately outbidding each other for the services of handicapped workers, Congress will have reached its spending limit: the point at which there is nothing left in the market for Congress to buy.

Of course, Congress’ spending on infrastructure will compete with private industry in the marketplace for goods and services. That will be a political problem that our Founders designed Congress to solve. Democracy works!

And of course, the threat of inflation will always be present but that is the nature of full employment. To maximize infrastructure, Congress must spend almost enough to cause inflation and must tax little enough to almost cause inflation.

Some may object that the result of maximum spending will be “big government”. It is true that there will be costly regulations and audits that reveal inefficient bureaucracy, mismanagement, delays, and cost overruns. Nobody’s perfect but, for those who object to Congress maximizing its spending on infrastructure, there is one question to be asked: why do you hate your grandchildren?
© 2017 Marvin Sussman, All rights reserved.

buffalo Loc: Texas

In 2016 US total health CARE spending was $3.35 TRILLION, or $10,335 for every man, woman and child. Now, not every man, woman and child generated that amount. Of which, government (federal and state) paid for nearly 65% of that. Why is that? About 5% of the population — those most frail or ill — accounts for nearly 50% the costs of health CARE in a given year. Who picks up that tab? You guessed it, government. Meanwhile, 50% of the US population has little or no health CARE costs, accounting for 3% of spending. Who profits from those 50% of people that are for the most part healthy. You guessed it. Big, private, for profit health INSURANCE corporations that are able to extract $500 billion in annual profits from avoiding risk, denying claims, charging ridiculously high premiums the equivalent of 3 house payments with co-pays and deductibles the size of a down payment on a home.

Even with government subsidies to big, private, for profit health INSURANCE corporations under the ACA they could not make enough profit from insuring those with pre-existing conditions and the poor and not enough young, healthy people mandated by the ACA signed up to offset that risk.

And we certainly get our money's worth on military spending? Well at least the MIC does just because it's Constitutional, right.

Do we really need 234 military golf courses around the world, an $80 million military ski resort in the Bavarian Alps and a parade of unnecessary weapons, ships, and planes?

It is increasingly obvious that our enormous untouchable “military” budget is not always being used for our national defense. Is that Constitutional?

But the reason why this overspending has continued unabated is that it enriches powerful special interest groups with entrenched hidden ties to politicians and government bureaucracies.

The same may be said of the private, for profit health INSURANCE industry.

http://www.onlinemilitaryeducation.org/secret-side/

The US could well afford to go to a Medicare for All system paid for with taxes, and still save 95% of taxpayers money!

http://moneyedpoliticians.net/medicare-for-all/

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Some of us have been beating that drum for years, enduring accusations of being a Communist, Socialist, Satan worshiper and other vile monikers, but we continue the crusade anyway. That doesn't make us some kind of hero, saint, or whatever, it makes us Americans who believe in the ideals that made America great.

What does "universal" even mean in this context? Simply put, it means "universal access", where everyone is treated exactly the same way by the healthcare industry - because there is only one pay source. Now, you can be denied treatment by anyone ( or everyone ), because they don't like your source of payment. Some Doctors and facilities require you to pay your co-insurance up front, before treating you. I've even had a hospital do a credit check on me, before scheduling a procedure. This type of behavior is capitalism gone bad.

When did we decide that life giving, life sparing and life saving healthcare was a business? When did we decide that profiting off of people's misfortunes, illnesses and tragedies was perfectly ok? The Constitution says we have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but life comes at a premium cost, we have to pay to keep our liberty - and the pursuit of happiness has a menu and a price tag. Those rights were purchased with the blood of American heroes, the unending heartache of their families, and the vigilance of their descendants - and may NOT be sold for profit!

We need a common sense approach to healthcare, absolutely sans partisan BS, where private enterprise and Gov. work together. There MUST be price controls placed on healthcare itself, because an MRI machine costs the same in NY as it does in Iowa, and prices ranging from $800 - $3500 for a scan is criminal. I don't have a problem with insurance companies bidding to administer our healthcare payments, thus avoiding the usual bureaucratic crap, and it would save billions right out of the gate, because they have the mechanisms in place already. I don't have a problem with payroll deductions for paying premiums, everyone MUST pay for their own healthcare regardless. Everyone must pay, and not just through income taxes, but with universal healthcare, those premiums would be adjusted by income, the more you make, the more you pay. There would still be co-insurance and copays, because if you use the system, you should pay more than those who do not - who will still have it if they need it.

When we get beyond the partisan rhetoric, and just use common sense, we'll all agree that the current healthcare system has gone rogue and is unsustainable. There is simply no excuse for private companies to be making 100's of billions of dollars in PROFIT every year, off of our accidents, illnesses or those of our children.

mongo Loc: TEXAS

I don't like it, but, it seems when obama pushed the ACA down the throats of this country, he also gave opportunity to the corporations to raise
health-care costs so high that if we go back to a free market, the costs would stay the same. The free market depends on making arrangements with providers, (doctors, hospitals, drug companies), to give the best care for the most affordable rate. I can't see them taking less money for lifesaving services after they have been used to getting top dollar. They have become top heavy, and have squandered the money on unnecessary
expenses. They never thought that ACA would become a double edged sword that cuts both ways. Now they are getting taxed into bankruptcy by the same party that promised untold opportunities of riches for their participation. That's why they're dropping out of the ACA.
I know there has to be a solution, but anything that doesn't put money in the politicians bank account, will be blocked!

SEMPER FI

Gatsby

The problem is simple: There is more profit in "managed care" than there is in finding "cures".
When they "cure" a patient, they profit one time, they sell "managed care" and profit for a lifetime.
When it comes to "best patient outcome" v. "best profit outcome", who wins?
Why are holistic doctors becoming a "threatened species"?

cesspool jones Loc: atlanta

That’s the best thing you ever said.

RRRoger

What we need to do is break up the Monopolies and collusion!
Free our markets.
Allow unempeded competition.
Other than that, repeal ObominationCare and get government out of the business.

Cmac

That's the reason small country's can try to make it work,there small.try to get it to work here at home and corruption will run rampant,who in there right mind would like any politician to have any say in it???just look at the VA does it not work just fine???go there and find out for your self!

buffalo Loc: Texas

Roger, you apparently did not read my post. Government (federal and state) already funds 65% of the cost of health CARE (Medicaid for the elderly and disabled and Medicaid for the poor) because those to groups are too risky and NOT profitable to the big, private, for profit health INSURANCE corporations and therefore they cannot profit from INSURING them, even with the ACA subsidies.

There is no such thing as "free markets" as big Wall Street banking and investment, big military industrial complex, big pharm, big, private, for profit health INSURANCE corporations and their money own politicians and are entrenched in government bureaucracies and can "INSURE" that legislation passed will favor them and their enormous profits from taxpayer money while destroying their smaller competition.

buffalo Loc: Texas

Corruption ALREADY runs rampant because of the money and influence of corporations.

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

The problem RRRoger, is that it is easier said than done in terms of breaking up the monopolies and companies colluding with one another. Look at the Republican alternative to Obamacare. It did absolutely NOTHING to reign in the insurance companies, institute mandatory posting of pricing for medical services, mandating that pharmaceutical companies cannot charge more in the US than any other country they sell in, allow Medicare to negotiate with the Pharmaceutical companies on price, etc.

You had good common sense reform proposals by Rand Paul https://youtu.be/w9FUStnkqXQ and Karl Denninger https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231949 but these will never see the light of day, or have a snow balls chance in hell of being promoted to the public. Why, because of corporate lobbying, and corporate bribes, (excuse me) donations, to our politicians.

The US is being run and operated as a Corporatocracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatocracy) and is beyond self repairing itself.