General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Incredible: Single Payer way more popular than ObamaRomneyCare. [View all]Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)I remember back when ACA was being debated on DU - most persons getting health insurance for work were not in favor of universal coverage, because they quailed at what they might have to contribute.
Our current system keeps a lot of people ignorant about what a lifetime of medical coverage really costs, and therefore the premium cost to a younger person who has coverage through work seems exceptional.
Personally, I believe almost everybody would be better off over the course of their lifetimes, and many people would be MUCH better off, and I think it would reduce discrimination against older/sicker persons in the workforce. It would also help to generate jobs, and it would equalize the playing field between large/small companies. Over time it would help the economy grow, which is an unquantifiable but real benefit.
So I am very much in favor of a universal coverage system.
However, whenever I put forward reasonable numbers, I do not get the idea that most people support it. People say yes to the words, but most people don't even know what Medicare costs, and when you tell them they are probably going to pay 15% of their salary for 80/20 coverage with no drug benefits, they spit in your face.
Most people, even on Democratic forums, are feeling very pushed and are out for themselves. We have lost the faith that we can make life better as a whole, so now we are all squabbling about our own advantage. In a way it is completely understandable - when you have so many people so pushed by rising costs and wages that do not keep pace, many will flinch at such a suggestion. They just can't pick up more burdens.