WashPost Editorial: Mr. Sanders needs to come clean about the funding for his health-care plan

[riversedge]

The Post's View
Mr. Sanders needs to come clean about the funding for his health-care plan


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-sanders-needs-to-come-clean-about-the-funding-for-his-health-care-plan/2016/01/19/efeed13a-bece-11e5-9443-7074c3645405_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory




Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pauses while speaking at a town hall in Carroll, Iowa, on Jan. 19. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)


By Editorial Board January 19 at 7:31 PM

PREVIOUSLY A non-starter in American politics, democratic socialism is gaining traction due to the presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a nominal independent running as a Democrat. If Mr. Sanders is to close the sale with voters, he must show he has learned from socialism’s mixed history abroad and devised an updated version that will work in the United States. Judging by the sketchy single-payer health-care plan he unveiled just before Sunday’s Democratic debate, Mr. Sanders is not up to the challenge.

He would replace existing federal health programs, as well as employer-paid group plans and the individual insurance market just expanded by Obamacare, with one big program, at a 10-year cost of $41 trillion, or $13.8 trillion more than the government would have spent over the next decade under current law. He says the new system would pay for itself, partly, by eliminating the current tax exclusion for employer-paid insurance, along with company profits and administrative overhead — and by fully exploiting the government’s buying power to lower costs. Some $10.7 trillion in new money would have to be raised, through a 2.2 percent premium from households, a 6.2 percent payroll tax and a grab bag of stiff tax increases on upper-income Americans.

When all is said and done, Mr. Sanders maintains, a typical family of four making $50,000 will save $5,807 per year , and get full medical, dental and vision coverage with no co-payments or deductibles in return: “All you need to do is go to the doctor and show your insurance card.”

Put aside Mr. Sanders’s lack of political realism, or his dubious choice to tap the rich for huge amounts of revenue and spend it all, with nothing left for deficit reduction or the underfunded Social Security program. Mr. Sanders’s fundamental problem is how to prevent the costs of so much coverage expansion from outstripping even the huge overhead savings he claims and the huge new revenue stream he seeks. His plan contains two sentences on cost control; the gist is that government would have the power to “negotiate fair prices.” But what if those prices are not high enough to support the current level of infrastructure and services and some hospitals have to close? Mr. Sanders promises patients “no more fighting with insurance companies” about who and what to cover, and he’s probably right; those fights would move to Congress and the bureaucracy........................




Also see:
Hours before debate, Sanders shares details of health-care plan that would raise income taxes

By John Wagner January 17

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/17/hours-before-debate-sanders-shares-details-of-health-plan-that-would-raise-income-taxes/?tid=ptv_rellink

[stonecutter357]

1. K&R!

[Gothmog]

2. Good editorial

Thank you for posting

[riversedge]

4. You are welcome

[Tommy2Tone]

3. He is being attached from all areas because the number don't add up.

His home state of Vermont, one of the most liberal states in the union, this past week gave up single payer because they could not make the numbers work.

Now Comes Paul Krugmen >> LInk: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/18/health-reform-is-hard/

My column and Bernie Sanders’ plan crossed in the mail. But the Sanders plan in a way reinforces my point that calls for single-payer in America at this point are basically a distraction. Again, I say this as someone who favors single-payer — but it’s just not going to happen anytime soon.

Put it this way: for all the talk about being honest and upfront, even Sanders ended up delivering mostly smoke and mirrors — or as Ezra Klein says, puppies and rainbows. Despite imposing large middle-class taxes, his “gesture toward a future plan”, as Ezra puts it, relies on the assumption of huge cost savings. If you like, it involves a huge magic asterisk.

The truth is coming out drip by drip and Sanders has no answer because there is no chance in hell the Single Payer fly's with anyone.

Off topic but I also saw new polls in Real Clear Politics for Florida and North Carolina

Florida Hillary up 36 over Bernie
North Carolina Hillary up 33 over Bernie.

[riversedge]

5. Sander health 'plan' is per Ezra Klein says, puppies and rainbows. ha ha that is a HOOT

Thanks --I needed a laugh.

[Tommy2Tone]

7. Don't tell that to his fans

I think if they laughed they would explode. I am sure they attacking Klein like that are Planned Parenthood.

[riversedge]

10. They need a godzillion number of buses!!

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. "Florida Hillary up 36 over Bernie." "North Carolina Hillary up 33 over Bernie."

I keep telling you guys that we're here (NC) to undo any ridiculousness that might occur in IA and/or NH.

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. He can't. It involves new taxes on the all important "middle class". n/t

[Tommy2Tone]

9. More important to the GOP is huge tax increase on the wealthy

and no member is going to vote for that.

[Politicub]

11. Sanders needs to keep his grubby paws off my Obamacare

It's working for me and millions of others. Could it be improved? Sure, any legislation can. But throwing it out with some faux Medicare for all scheme? Par for the Sanders course.