scrubbedexpat099

Is this about Weiner?

Name still cracks me up.

Giantaxe

Even if costs were similar to other western countries, the system would not function well if it were possible to "free load" on the system. Countries that use insurance-based systems such as The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland both regulate insurance significantly and have a mandate for insurance. Similarly, in single-payer systems (such as the NHS or the US's Medicare) there is a "mandate" through the tax system. So both the cost and the lack of a meaningful mandate are issues, imo.

Giantaxe

This is probably going to become a classic election campaign picture:

morpeth

Since either for ideological reasons, or observation of the fault of a single payer system elsewhere, it is a hard sell in the USA a single payer system, I believe the answer a blended approach. Some ideas :

1. Reduce Medicare age from 65 to 62, and merge with Medicaid, to eliminate duplicate programs and personnel.
2. Medicaid can continue to contract with insurance companies, but expand eligibility based on income.
3. Regulate medical industry similar to utility companies - they are allowed a certain return on capital ( hospitals) , doctors (all) have to set aside so many days per month for Medicaid patients, penalties for drug companies that sell the same product made in the same factory for more than 200% in the USA than elsewhere..
4. Wage restrictions for top officers of non profit hospitals, and top five earners required to publish in local paper and television advertisements what they make annually. And an annual letter explaining why any administrative staff at a non profit hospital has to be paid over 150% of what same job pays elsewhere.
5. Keep beneficial aspects of Obamacare such as those covering pre-existing conditions.
6. 1% tax on wages (1/2 employer 1/2 employee) to cover costs of (1) and (2).
7. Overall force a 5% reduction in costs two years in a row.
8. Forget the mandate, everyone simply has Medicare or Medicaid by default if they don't have other insurance, (6) adjusted as necessary for cost of premium.
9. Some sort of cap on malpractice claims, and/or special courts to deal with.

All this can be adjusted this way or that, but if walking into a 2 hour operation can cost $25,000 ( as happened to a friend recently), there is something seriously wrong.

Giantaxe

Medicaid is a per-state program and, as we've seen, many states refused to extend it to lower-income individuals that don't have minor-age children in their household.

Your 6. is a form of mandate.

morpeth

By (6) I meant paying overall for cost of the Medicaid insurance, as opposed to penalizing people of low income by forcing them to pay a specific tax. Instead just an overall tax. Yes I guess a type of mandate. And yes some will freeload , especially if they don't have a job or no insurance or are seniors or are poor.

As far as Medicaid if extending cant be solved under existing program convert to Medicare or whatever that works.

dc koop

Impeachment proceedings ? No I think not but certainly they'll do all they can to delay or obstruct any legislation put forward by Hillary. It will just be Washington business as usual and there is an ever increasing discontent amongst the population over the way things are in DC. Really no surprise that there are new kinds of politicians on the scene such as Trump and Bernie Sanders who draw their support from unhappy voters on the left and right

sir_eccles

Locker room stuff. All men do it.

Giantaxe

Other than extend single-payer coverage to those between 62 to 65, I just don't see what your scheme would achieve. In fact, it would probably make things a lot worse in that there would be no incentive for people to buy their own insurance: why do that when they can get Medicaid and have taxpayers in general pay for it? After all, a 1% tax on wages is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of healthcare, even in countries with way lower costs than the US.

magnumpi

Either way, as I see it the US is going to get the worse president in its history, period !!

scrubbedexpat099

Leslie

Is it just me or has this election, of potentially the first woman president, been completely showered with men who can't keep their dicks in their pants?

It almost seems intentional, or maybe inevitable.

Leslie

"The election may not be as rigged as I thought." ~ Trump

Anybody who still takes him seriously needs to be lobotomized.

scrubbedexpat099

sir_eccles

Comey has now essentially admitted that his announcement was politically motivated.