Comments on: Some Democrats decide the time is ripe for single-payer

By: Ymar Sakar

Ymar Sakar — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 23:51:44 +0000

The US is guilty of the same thing with Terry Schiavo case.

Some people just love exercising dominion and Nicodemian powers over others.

By: richard40

richard40 — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 00:44:10 +0000

“Remember — “Single Payer” = “Single Denier”!”
Excellent comment. We saw the ultimate expression of that in Britain, where that family wanted to try an experimental procedure in the US at totally their own expense, not even asking the gov to pay anything. The UK nationalized health system would not even allow them to do that, and instead forced the family to watch their child die in the gov hospital, where the only “treatment” the gov proposed as their alternative was certain death..

By: Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 22:46:24 +0000

The time is rapidly approaching when we must consider a single-payer system for food. Well over 300 million Americans (and undocumented immigrants) are not “covered”. They have no food insurance whatsoever! A crisis of this magnitude cannot persist without the federal government stepping in. To make this dream a reality, some of our wealthiest capitalists — Bill Gates Warren Buffett, and George Soros — will have to step up to the plate and finally start paying their fair share. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!

By: Ferd Berfel

Ferd Berfel — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 22:10:15 +0000

Here’s a bitter pill to swallow:
Remember – “Single Payer” = “Single Denier”!

By: Lewin W. Wickes

Lewin W. Wickes — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 14:19:26 +0000

Who says we may have only one system in this country? If, say, 40% of Americans want single payer, then let that 40% sign up for it, have government collect the payroll tax from them and deliver the care. All others may make their own arrangements in a truly free market. My Mennonite neighbors are already exempted from Medicare and ObamaCare. They pay nothing into those programs and they get no benefits from those programs. They pool their resources in various ways, pay cash, which greatly reduces costs, and they are faring better than the general population.

By: BrianE

BrianE — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 22:49:58 +0000

“Eh, I don’t see how doctors will be made to comply, especially when the current Medicare reimbursement system can often result in a net loss (which is why doctors cap the # of Medicare patients accepted, if any, right?).” – Lizzy

I wonder if you’re thinking of Medicaid, not Medicare. Looking at a Kaiser table, Medicaid reimburses about 72% of what Medicare pays for all services. Primary care reimbursement is even less at 66%.

http://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/medicaid-to-medicare-fee-index/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D

Here’s an interesting article about the efficencies of Medicare.

Yet, rather than offering a solution to the inefficient and costly fragmentation of American health care, Medicare’s structure is responsible for much of the current situation. While it is known to voters as an entitlement for seniors and the disabled, the program’s purchasing power has been prized by policymakers as an instrument for controlling and shaping the delivery of American health care. But rather than promoting the coordination of care and efficient purchase of services, it is too easily forced by the most politically powerful providers into subsidizing their operations and protecting them from competition. The result has been the gradual consolidation of American health care, often creating local hospital monopoliesâ€…–â€…able to impose excessive fees and deferential contracting arrangements on insurers required to pay for their services.

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/medicares-single-payer-experience

The article is very positive about Medicare Advantage plans, which I thought the ACA was attempting to eliminate.

By: Lizzy

Lizzy — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 22:24:39 +0000

Eh, I don’t see how doctors will be made to comply, especially when the current Medicare reimbursement system can often result in a net loss (which is why doctors cap the # of Medicare patients accepted, if any, right?).

I would expect that the good doctors will flee, by setting up clinics where you can buy medical services directly from them for cash (if allowed), leave practice, or practice in another country. Then, as has apparently happened in the UK, you will get your ‘Medicare for all’ services provided by foreign born (and possibly foreign trained) doctors.

By: Geoffrey Britain

Geoffrey Britain — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:01:36 +0000

Lizzy, “Medicare for all” … Good luck finding a doctor who is accepting new Medicare patients!" You will be made to care. And doctors will be made to comply. Pervy Grin "Then why shouldn’t the government force us into single-payer systems for other basic necessities like food, housing, and clothes?" Of course they will. Socialized Medicine is their foot in the door. You don't actually think it'll stop with "Medicare for All" do you? "From each according to their means, to each according to their needs" Karl Marx

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 19:52:00 +0000

The Lieutenant Governor here in Virginia, a democrat, is campaigning on providing affordable healthcare for all Virginians. I’m just wondering where the government is going to get all this affordable health care. Maybe they have a warehouse full of affordable healthcare somewhere they intend to use. Actually, I suspect it’s the old socialist fallacy that we can all live well at the expense of everybody else.
“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone.” Frédéric Bastiat

By: Geoffrey Britain

Geoffrey Britain — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 18:26:22 +0000

Vladimir Lenin: “Socialized Medicine is the Keystone to the Arch of the Socialist State.”

Josef Stalin: “Socialized medicine is the cornerstone of communism.”

Nikita Khrushchev: “We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism.”

Robert Reich, September 2007 speech to an audience at the UC Berkeley: “We’re going to have to, if you’re very old, we’re not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you maybe going for another couple of months. It’s too expensive…so we’re going to let you die.”