The Only Viable Health Insurance Reform is a Single Payer System

[TexasTowelie]

By Oren M. Levin-Waldman, Ph.D.

The Democrats seek to maintain the Affordable Care Act (ACA) regardless of its shortcomings, if for no other reason than the Republicans don’t like it. Meanwhile, the Republicans seek to repeal and replace because they promised that they would. We all understand the politics of healthcare: Republicans and conservatives still believe that the marketplace will adequately provide if only government will stop interfering. For liberals and Democrats, the healthcare market is not the same as other markets and given rising costs it needs to be guaranteed by government.

Aside from these ethical claims, there is the obvious question of how healthcare reform affects the labor market. Let’s consider our options at the moment. Under the ACA, employers with more than 50 employees are supposed to provide insurance to those working a minimum of 30 hours a week. Those who aren’t offered insurance through their employers are eligible to buy insurance through exchanges and get subsidies to purchase insurance. A family of four, then, earning 400 times the poverty level, roughly $96,000 a year, would qualify for a subsidy. Additionally, insurance companies must accept people with preexisting conditions and individuals are required to purchase insurance or pay a penalty if they do not.

Critics have argued that the employer mandate to insure workers only encourages employers to cut worker hours. Workers who cannot afford insurance or who choose not to purchase it will simply opt to pay the penalty. Employers might also find it more cost-effective to pay the penalties for not providing insurance. The individual mandates that were supposed to broaden the insurance pool thereby lowering premiums, has done anything but.

On the contrary, because all plans offered must meet certain standards and provide certain minimum benefits, premiums have been driven up. For those purchasing at the bottom of the exchange, the deductibles for many are prohibitively expensive, effectively putting many back in the same position they were in prior to the ACA.

Read more: http://www.yonkerstribune.com/2017/03/the-only-viable-health-insurance-reform-is-a-single-payer-system-by-oren-m-levin-waldman-ph-d

[still_one]

1. The reason Single Payer, a public option, or Medicare for all didn't happen is because

they didn't have the votes. The blue dogs would not vote for single payer, so it was a non-starter. With the republican control of Congress it is less probable that something like that would occur.

The reason the individual mandate has issues in some states is because the republicans in those states have been undermining it every step of the way. Most of the red states refused to expand Medicaid, even though it would have benefited those states with federal funding. It is insane.

The fact that millions who were unable to have medical insurance now have insurance, is not a failure.

Single payer or Medicare for all would be great, but that isn't going to happen in this environment.

[BainsBane]

6. I'm hopeful that Republican problems

coming up with an acceptable replacement may make single payer or a public option more possible in the future, when Trump is gone and Dems control congress again.

[still_one]

15. I hope so too Bains, but I think we are going to still be faced with the same problem we were in

2008, the blue dogs or red state Democrats

It will be interesting if SB 562 goes forward in California:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/17/california-lawmakers-to-introduce-medicare-for-all-health-plan-on-friday/

I think that would give a big push for other states to follow suits

[msongs]

2. time for dems to introduce legislation to make this happen nt

[BainsBane]

7. Why?

Why should congressional resources be used for vanity legislation? You know it has no chance of passing now. It wouldn't even get a hearing in committee. You think they should spend time crafting a bill to make you feel better? Politics isnt entertainment or an emotional catharsis.
legislation is serious business. What you are advocating is grandstanding.

[rpannier]

12. Because that's how you get people talking

and how you shape conversation
Throwing up your hands and saying nothing other than, "it'll never pass!" accomplishes bumpkus
Your defeatism aside, I live in a country with single payer and have for years. You'd be surprised how easy it has been to convert even my more conservative friends in the US

[BainsBane]

16. Since you don't live in the US

You may be unaware of congressional procedures. No amount of optimism changes how congress runs. The minority party cannot bring a bill up for review in commmitee, let alone up for a vote on the floor.

Understanding civics is not defeatism, anymore than a refusal to consider it is optimism.

There are states working on creating a public option, but then state politics rarely makes the cable news entertainment.

There are one or two federal reps who love nothing more than to cobble together shoddy legislation to use to grandstand before the cameras. I'm sure you could get one of them to introduce just about anything if they think ty can use it to promote themselves.

[PoliticAverse]

3. "A family of four, then, earning 400 times the poverty level, roughly $96,000"

$96,000/400 = $240. It would appear his Ph.D isn't in math.

[TexasTowelie]

4. Probably meant to use the word "percent"

rather than "times". We'll leave it to the reader to decide whether he is bad at math or English. His credentials are at the bottom of the linked article.

[democratisphere]

5. Single payer works for every other country that has it on earth while our absurd

Last edited Sat Mar 18, 2017, 06:03 AM - Edit history (1)

Free Market Healthcare is in total ruin from a cost and coverage standpoint.

[BainsBane]

8. Every other country on earth does not have single payer

Not even every European country has single payer.

[democratisphere]

9. You are correct.

Last edited Sat Mar 18, 2017, 06:34 AM - Edit history (1)

[link:http://truecostblog.com|

And specially this:

[link:http://truecostblog.com/2009/08/09/countries-with-universal-healthcare-by-date/|

[mr_lebowski]

11. Every other 1st World Country has either a National Health System similar to the UK's ...

OR something that can be at minimum a LOT more accurately described as being a 'single-payer' system vs. what we have in the US, at least as far as primary care goes.

Do you disagree with that assertion?

[BainsBane]

13. Yes, I do

Neither Germany or Switzerland gave single payer. There are a multitude of ways to achieve universal healthcare. Single payer is but one of them.

[mr_lebowski]

10. Which the author does a decent job of explaining given it's an article not a thesis ...

Health Care, and hence Insurance for Health Care ... is simply NOT a normal free-market situation. It can't be, shouldn't be, and hopefully never is. Unless you're super-rich ... YOU CANNOT BE WITHOUT IT ... ergo ... IT'S NOT A FREE MARKET. It ain't shoes, or cars, or ...

The knuckle-dragging Faux watchers will never grasp that nuance, in fact they don't really even seem to understand the entire concept of 'how insurance works', or if they do grasp it, they hate the very underlying idea, fundamentally ... which is funny because their 'views' generally do nothing but benefit Big Insurance itself ... they magically want uber-cheap insurance/coverage but with the best care ... cause THEY deserve it, and not someone else.

They're special WHITE snowflakes, so why can't they have their cake and eat it too cause 'MERICA?!? Why should they 'have to pay' ... for OTHERS?!?

Well a'course they know WHY ... because immigrants, teh ghays, muslims, and them sluts and welfare queens who get knocked up, and have them like 20 kids, so they's gettin' them like $20K/month from the gubmint cause of all them kids, then eatin' lobster for dinner and drivin' cadillacs ...

No dumbfucks ... it's because that's HOW INSURANCE WORKS. If you're so freakin' healthy, maybe you should support things like 'discounts for participating in wellness programs', kinda like you get discounts for your car insurance when you don't get in accidents ... instead of working to deny others the right to even LIVE cause you don't wanna 'share' by being part of an 'insurance pool' ...

If you want to pay, like $200/month for Cadillac Care, coverage for pre-existing conditions, no caps on lifetime spending, low deductibles, cheap medications, all-around quality care, etc, etc, etc ... you know how you 'get that'? SINGLE FUCKING PAYER. ONE GIANT POOL of people, in which WE all set the prices as a Nation, because WE control the only way anyone in the med business gets paid (at least for primary care), through our representatives in government, who are ACCOUNTABLE to VOTERS.

If we don't have to make insurance execs and stockholders RICH, you see, that's BILLION$$$$$ more of our tax $$$ ... going to help US, we the people, not the fatcats. Medicare's overhead for example is like 3% ... WAAAAAAAY less than United Healthcare's. And that's not counting the savings on the administrative side of things for the doctors/hospitals. Do you have any idea how much is WASTED just on people trying to figure out how much to bill whom for what, and then trying to 'collect' ? The costs are STAGGERING.

How anyone fails to grasp this simple math is just beyond me. You have to be brainwashed beyond belief, or incredibly dumb to not see it.

[Hoyt]

14. Basically agree, but 30% of Medicare beneficiaries get coverage through private insurers

in Medicare Advantage Plans.

If we had single payer, I don't think it will be that much cheaper than private insurance. Some cheaper -- maybe 6 - 10% -- but not so much cheaper as to be insignificant in everyone's budget. Now if we get into paying doctors $75,000 a year, funding hospitals like VA facilities, drug companies at aspirin rates, etc., we can make it a lot cheaper. But there is a price for that, not the least of which is the impact on a lot of workers. Personally, I would be fine with that, but I don't think most people are.

In any event, whether we have Medicare for all or higher taxes to fund care through insurance companies, everyone should be covered by right of being a citizen.