Medicare for ALL with money left over

Hello Stu:


If you read what I wrote, I STARTED with the amount we ALREADY spend...  I'm NOT proposing new expenditures.  I'm proposing that we allocate our CURRENT expenditures better.

excon This post was edited by excon at October 24, 2018 9:36 AM MDT

But who is "we?" If you're proposing and believe that government can somehow magically take and re-allocate citizens' personal and other private sector resources, then I want some of what you're smoking.

Hello again, Stu:

We is us..  It's the TOTAL amount we spend on health care.. That number is difficult to ascertain, but it IS a real number.  The health care insurance industry's take is equally difficult to ascertain, but it's a REAL number too..  I PROMISE you when you subtract one from the other, there's a pile of cash left over..

And, I heartedly agree with you..  However, my plan isn't about how EASY it'll be to make it happen.  It's about what we CAN do IF we have the will to do it.. Like anything worthwhile, it'll be HARD..  But, we don't endeavor to do things because it's EASY.

If you want the government OUT of your health care, THIS plan does that.. Here's how it works on the ground.. You feel ill. You go to your doctor. Your doctor treats you. He sends a bill to Medicare. Medicare pays it. Easy peasy. Truly, it's EASY PEASY... The government gets a bill, and they PAY IT. NOTHING MORE. A couple hundred computer operators could handle it.

Look.. If you wanna lament the total and absolute DESTRUCTION of the health insurance INDUSTRY under my plan, you'll have an argument. 

excon This post was edited by excon at October 24, 2018 9:53 AM MDT

But what do you think Medicare is? It's a government-funded program financed by, you guessed it, tax revenues! Universal health care can't happen without major tax increases.

Hello again, Stu:

That's what some people say..  I say, if we allocate every penny that now goes to the health insurance industry, that there'll be BILLIONS and BILLIONS toward our national health care budget?

Do you KNOW how many MILLIONS those health insurance executives earn??

excon

Insurance companies would not go anywhere....They are involved with Medicare now. And there will always be insurance for services the gov does not want to cover. As there are in other countries with UHC. So those jobs are not going anywhere.

Hello again, my:

Look..  It's the way it is, because we MADE it that way..  We can make it different if we so choose..

Lemme say again, under MY plan, your doctor bills Medicare and Medicare PAYS it..  There's NO NEED for insurance companies..  Oh, they can switch to coving cars, but under my plan, their health care days would be OVER..

excon This post was edited by excon at October 24, 2018 10:03 AM MDT

Then it is more expensive than the link I posted below at the $562B needed in taxes....that figures at the gov only paying as regular Medicare does 80%.

They say it because it's true. And government doesn't have the authority or the ability to take resources from insurance companies in the private sector to fund the expansion of public sector programs and services.

Hello again, Stu:

We don't disagree again..  The only thing my plan would take from the for profit insurance companies is CUSTOMERS..  If they can compete with the government, they're welcome to try..

excon

OK, but you still haven't said where you expect the money to pay for expanded Medicare to come from.

Hello again, Stu:

I thought I did..  Out of the money we spend for healthcare, the health insurance industry takes a cut.  What do they DO for that cut??  Well, they collect money, deny services, and write checks.. If we STOPPED denying services, there's NOTHING for an insurance company to do.  If the government will cover EVERYTHING, why would I hire an insurance company who ISN'T going to cover everything???  I wouldn't, of course.  Nobody would.. 

SO, since we won't need insurance companies any more, ALL that money we've been paying them can now go for health care... Oh, the mechanism will be through taxes, but it should be an even tradeoff..  In other words, what you'll SAVE in health care costs, you'll PAY in taxes..  An EVEN swap.

excon

Hello my:

Lemme see.. If it SAVES us $600 billion, and only COSTS us $562 billion to do it, I'd say YEAH..  

Or, do you read your report differently?

excon

It took me a couple of times to see it as well. 
Here is what I missed the first time. 

 We found it would require an additional $562 billion in taxation to cover the government spending, after savings (after the $600B) and increases to demand.

So the cost will eat the $600B saved and still need another $562B. This post was edited by my2cents at October 24, 2018 10:00 AM MDT