Given that those countries spend substantially less dollars per person on health care for equivalent or better outcomes, none of those things are you mention actually relevant to the issue. Higher taxes or spending more money on military, for example, wouldn't make it cost half as much to do an MRI.
The system before Obama care was even worse, so returning to that is out of the question. If you put in a public option, Obama care will eventually turn into single payer system.
I dont know what you mean by the government 'creating' a risk free business model. This model has been around for how long? What I am suggesting is that we go back to the way it was before. Let the insurance companies run their business model however they please with no government stipulations (again, sans misrepresentation/fraud/deception, ect) Whatever these insurance companies don't pick up, give it to medicare. It doesn't matter what they call a pre-existing condition, allow anyone to 'buy into' medicare. At this point, insurance companies truly have a competitor. If they can't compete, then we essentially fall into single payer system. Obamacare has ruined the industry because they have a 'one size fits all' mentality. Private insurance can not compete in this environment. Its not affordable. You're not going to get a single payer system through congress. A public option might have a chance, but I will have a lot of opposition from the insurance companies (which is why it was never added in the first place) and the right. A public option is not going to fix prices either.
Worse for who? Not me. I would pay 4x as much for a fraction of the value. its all about perspective.
Yes, for you. When you are old and a drain on the system, you will pay less and receive exponential value.
Assuming Hillary wins in November, we eventually will have a single payer health care system. However, the time frame will be determined by the amount of money the Clintons can scam from the insurance companies. Even with their multi-billion dollar piggy bank known as the Clinton Foundation, they will seek millions, perhaps billions, more. With Billy & Hilly, enough is never enough.
If an ill conceived plan fails, the only solution is to go with a similar and even more expensive version of the plan.....and blame those who told them all along that the plan would fail due to being ill conceived.
Price inflation has been rampant in Healthcare mainly due to the intertwined nature of government and private industry and a substantial set of regulations that have driven up the price for all people. There are many different special interest groups that use the power of regulation and government to benefit their constituency at the expense of Americans. As an example the American Medical Association for years along with Specialty Boards conspired to limit the number of physicians in the country and would not allow additional medical schools to be built. We're currently in a scenario where tens of millions of Americans are in federally underserved areas. This lack of supply of healthcare workers drives up physician wages in the US above that of virtually any country in the world which drives up the price of healthcare significantly as no system can create scale and instead its a cluster of small, inefficient doctor's offices. Silly governmental rules like those in Hospice's allowed business owners to make fortunes off of sick patients for little to no work and then keep healthy patients in Hospice care when it was not needed. The requirements for ER rooms to treat anyone and everyone created a vaccum in which specialty centers and surgery centers now suck away the profitable procedures and business and have left hospitals with ER rooms, and the uninsured making it more expensive for those that pay. The increase in government into this space has caused significant inflation in prices and a lack of ROI to taxpayers, as has public education and other areas which are run by bureaucrats. More of the same will not change things.
Management of a serious medical condition that requires a battery of tests every three months are not something to be brushed off. It can be very stressful and trying on the patient and the family. A bad result, even if statistical noise, can cause some real heartache and disruption in their daily routine. You have been a little less than forthcoming about your wives condition. When monitored so often and so invasively, it can feel a bit like constantly getting a report card with grades you have no power to improve. IF she has the power to improve, the pressure can be even greater. Frankly, I think you need to step up your understanding of what she is going through and not be so dismissive. From the outside what looks like an small errand every three months is much much more with respect to daily life and long term planning and future. Are you even prepared for the real possibility of a bad result and the life altering impacts?
Quite well, but this is off topic. Let's concentrate on the Unaffordable Care Act, which, I admit, was quite a nice bullet for my covert work.
Most people are not on Obamacare, they are on private plans. The problem isn't the insurance plans and premiums - it's the cost of health care is so high - largely because of drug companies, device manufacturers, and the political clout they have. You want to know why premiums are going up? Connect the dots!!! It's because insurance companies pay $600 for a $2 shot of epinephrine. Welcome to the free market! When you make life or death consumer needs tied to the free market you get great solutions at high cost. Our medical system can do wonders for people - but it will cost you an arm and a leg and maybe your house...and more. The only solution is to create an entity where premiums are set, and that has the power to negotiate on behalf of consumers while representing such a large block of consumers that drug companies have to play ball. That's why medicare has had success.
Out of curiosity, what exactly do people think "Obamacare" is? There's not some insurance plan named Obamacare that you sign up for.
That system was wretched and everyone hated it. We had unsustainable health care cost inflation in the private market, and Medicare was on the verge of a crisis as well. How quickly we forget that back in the 2000's, health care reform was one of the top issues for most people. This exactly describes the public option that Republicans have fought so hard against. Democrats would LOVE this idea. You just argued to go back to the old horrible system, and then to add a public option, and then that a public option won't fix anything. What exactly do you want?
What I/we want and what we need are completely two different arguments. This is the point im trying to make. Going back a decade ago, we NEEDED healthcare reform. Not many people argued against this. What we got was the disastrous Obamacare. If you throw out all the bullshit numbers the government (CBO) gave us, one can easily see how Obamacare did not stand a chance. Two years into the ACA, we were riddled with all kinds of problems and bugs. Four years in and we realized it was all broken promises (keep your doctor, affordable, ect..). 6 years in and its collapsing. This is some of the worst legislation (on a grand scale) ever passed. In another two years, we will be forced to either repeal it or nationalize it. A public option is not going to fix this. What I specifically stated was you're not going to get a single payer through the front doors of congress. If the Republicans control congress, don't expect a public option to get through the front door either. Obamacares two biggest failures was forcing people to purchase the product AND removing the competition/options in the private market.
Meh... this is all headed towards a fight for a single payer system and the Obama administration when it would come to a head in the future. This is exactly what they expected and wanted. They know at worst the frame work of government intervention will not be repealed. Once you give a protection with government involvement, it is difficult to take it away without replacing it with an expansion.
