(11 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.
There is a better approach, Mr. President. It’s called Medicare for All, and it lets anyone under 65 buy into Medicare who wants to.
Want to bring down premiums? Medicare for All is the way to go, because you can create a vast insurance buying pool administered by an entity that only takes 3% off the top for expenses (for profit health insurers take 20%). The massive buying power of that pool, combined with huge administrative cost savings, is virtually guaranteed to cut premiums for everyone.
Want to bring down the deficit? I’ll tell you what. How about we get Medicare out of the red permanently by letting customers under 65 buy in? That way, the Federal Government isn’t stuck paying out of pocket for the most costly elderly patients while it lets private insurers capture all the revenues from everybody else.
Want to cover the uninsured? Let the millions of folks with preexisting conditions sign up for the more affordable insurance coverage that Medicare for All will provide. Subsidize those who are unable to pay.
Want to strengthen Medicare for seniors? Let people under 65 buy in to create a funding source of younger, healthier people that offsets costs from the more expensive senior pool. That way, instead of worrying about more cuts, seniors would actually see improvements to their benefits plans. As an added bonus Mr. President, you’ve just solved one of the top priorities of your new Fiscal Commission.
Want to stop insurance company abuses? There is no better regulator than competition. Give everyone a Medicare buy in option that competes with private insurers in an open exchange. Because a government-sponsored alternative gives customers a place to go if they don’t like the way they are being treated, private health insurers will be forced to straighten up and fly right if they want to stay in business.
Mr. President, the answer is obvious: the only approach to America’s health care crisis that satisfies all of your criteria is Medicare for All. Nothing else even comes close.
(also @ Big O)
11 comments
Skip to comment form
Author
premium insurance role for health care.
If you’re gonna have a mandate, I don’t think the mandate should be “buy private insurance or medicare”. The answer should be “everyone is on Medicare, but if you want cadillac health care you can buy supplementary insurance.”
One thing the right wingers I know are worried about .. you know the ones who have government jobs and stuff (heh) is they’ll lose their cushy health care relative to the rest of the population.
But everyone should have access to that standard medical care — exempting only the most extreme or frivolous to private entities.
Because that would be actually competition rather than extortion.
How about telling them to do this. By telling them they are guaranteed your votes if and only if they do this before November. Guaranteed your votes after they deliver, iow…
Why that’s dirty commie stuff. This is a hard nosed, free
enterprise system for the survival of the fittest. Pay up or die, now that’s a motto for the 21st century. That’s what America’s built on, isn’t it?
be too simple and intelligent.
wait…wait…
but obama is the most intelligent creature ever to inhabit the white house…
how does that go again…x dimensional suggestions for the obvious…
Author
so people will be less likely to figure out how they’re being screwed by the whole process.