Hillary's newfound disdain for single payer

[think]

Hillary's newfound disdain for single payer

By David U. Himmelstein, M.D. and Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H. - February 29, 2016, 01:30 pm

Back in 1993, when we met with Hillary Clinton at the White House, she acknowledged that single-payer national health insurance was the best solution to America's health care mess, but dismissed it as politically impossible.

She kept singing much the same tune until Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) upstart campaign began rallying support for single-payer reform, and threatening Hillary's glide path to the nomination. Then she started echoing Republican rhetoric, claiming that “Medicare for All” would break the bank and disrupt care.

Hillary's flip-flop marked a stark departure from 70 years of Democratic Party policies. Single payer was integral to the party's platforms from 1948 until 1992.

But even as party leaders and their policy advisers adopted more "politically realistic" reform options, they continued to acknowledge the advantages of single payer.

~Snip~

Back in 2003, Thorpe estimated that single payer would achieve huge administrative savings – more than 10 percent of total health spending, equivalent to $350 billion this year alone. Now he's cut that estimate in half, despite evidence that the costs of health bureaucracy in the U.S. have climbed even higher, while they've remained low in single-payer nations such as Canada.

The most recent data suggests that single-payer savings would amount to at least 14.3 percent of total U.S. health spending.

~Snip~

Read more:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/271001-hillarys-newfound-disdain-for-single-payer

[Thinkingabout]

1. Hillary is not against single payer, she is not for Medicare for all,

There is a difference, the article should reflect she is not for Medicare for all.

[revbones]

2. Guess that's why she said "Single payer will never, ever happen."

She is against it now that she's gotten insurance company donations.

[Thinkingabout]

14. Link

[think]

4. Please feel free to explain the difference between Single Payer & Medicare for All.

[tk2kewl]

5. right? wtf?

let's just change the name then. can we have single payer if we call it

"Health Care for All Where the Government is the Single Payer and Get's to Use its Leverage to Negotiate Better Pricing for All"

[Thinkingabout]

15. She would not repeal ACA and start over again on Medicare for all.

If you are on Medicare then you know it has its problems. Medicare isn't free.

[NorthCarolina]

12. Does she support a continued role for the for-profit insurance middleman?

Of course she does.

[jeff47]

13. Yes, she is against single-payer.

Single payer would mean the government pays all medical bills. Clinton opposes that. Her plans all involve private insurance companies paying for most medical bills for people under 65.

She supports universal coverage not universal care. She wants everyone to have health insurance. Health insurance is not health care.

[revbones]

3. It was cool when it was called "HillaryCare". Now, not so much. n/t

[jillan]

6. Reminder there was no HillaryCare. She couldn't sell it.

[revbones]

7. Agreed, but she liked single-payer when she tried. nt

[jillan]

8. That was "so yesterday" - lol.

Just one more flip-flop.

[Raster]

9. she got slapped around the parking lot by big pharma, medicine for profit and...

...private, for-profit insurance.

Gotta give the ol gal credit, she sure knows how to change tunes on a dime.

[revbones]

10. Yep, slapped with lots of donations.

That's all it takes to change a supposedly core belief of hers.

[Faux pas]

11. Kickin' with disgust

the party ain't what it used to be.