Health Care Reform

Sandoval vetoed Sprinklecare. It's coming back.

This is from April 26, 2018.

[quote]The most sweeping Democratic proposal is the plan from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to create a national health-care system in which government would become the “single payer” for all medical services, eliminating private insurance. [bold]But while that long-standing liberal goal has newly galvanized many activists, most Democratic officials and policy experts still consider single-payer plans politically unrealistic because they are too costly and provide government too much control over health-care delivery.[/bold]

The “Democratic officials” who “still consider single-payers plans politically unrealistic” are bought off by the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

Ronald Brownstein doesn’t delve into that.

As great as Ronald Brownstein is on analyzing election trends, he should not be writing about this topic.

I am all for a public option. I would really enjoy watching the health care insurers being driven out of business because they have, as corporations, an obligation to their shareholders to turn maximum profits. That is a built-in, fatal conflict of interest and has resulted in cutting every corner they can no matter the effect on those people enrolled with them. The result has been real human suffering and even death. And the drug companies are just as nasty. They have had no problem chiseling every dime they can get from Americans for drugs that they sell in other countries for pennies on the dollar.

I'm okay with incrementalism as long as things move in the right direction at a reasonable pace.

Kaine's plan isn't bad for 2021. We just need the Senate and the presidency. If we have the votes then, no more efforts at bipartisanship on health care, like Obama wasted a year on.

The GOP will try to destroy the public option, but as with the ACA, the core will remain and the public will grow to like it.

Best incremental case:

2021: public option

2025: single payer

2029: national health service

It'll probably take 20+ years, however, to actually achieve NHS or Canada's system. But single payer is likely in reach. The states need to do it now, to show how well it'll work.

R3, absolutely spot-on.

R3 is correct.

R4 is wrong about the bullshit of “incrementalism.”

R6, people need to be convinced to give up private employee-provided health care. A well-functioning and affordable public option that's proves itself for a few years will substantially reduce opposition to single payer and ultimately NHS.

The GOP-packed courts could very well overturn any and all future reforms, but it's less likely that they'll overturn incremental change vs. revolutionary change.

But for Lieberman, we'd already have the public option as part of the ACA, available on state exchanges.

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have proposed the Medicare-X Choice Act.

Medicare-X. Sounds good.

Here's the Medicare-X one-pager.

Vox's explainer re Medicare-X.

The Center for American Progress came up with Medicare Extra for All around 2016. Medicare-X is the resulting legislative proposal.

Correction: Medicare Extra for All emerged from CAP in February 2018.

Sanders's single payer proposal.

OP, does Sprinklecare have anything to do with the Mustang Ranch and its affiliates?

This is why the fight is not over. Besides trying to impeach Trump, (or making his Administration accountable, at the very least), we MUST stay on our legislators backs to strengthen ObamaCare/ACA/Health Reform... whatever you want to cal it

Dems are getting ready for another big health care push. Several proposals are on the table, with more to come. We're getting there. Exciting.

Medicare-X and Medicare Extra for All are pretty similar, but not identical.

Nothing satisfactory will happen until the healthcare bubble bursts. Just like the housing market and any other crisis in American history, everything has to completely tank for the partisan politics to be put aside to get things done. The student loan / higher ed bubble will also have to burst for that to be reformed.

R17, one hopes, but with the senate...

R19, oh it won't happen until after 2020 if at all. They know this. But they're starting to debate and develop the proposals so they can propose one or more of them to the public for the next election. They want all voters to know what Medicare-X is by the next election so ideally a majority will like it and they will inform their votes for Dems. The media will start covering it more as soon as the House proposes it, etc. Ideally the House will pass one of them before the next election, to put that particular bill to the fore of national discussion.

I'm hoping that next year they'll take Kaine's bill to the House and pass it.

My concern with health care is that we can't see the forest for the trees.

First, if we are using Medicare as a building block for a healthcare solution, let's consider what Medicare is and isn't. Look at your pay stub to see what you're paying for Medicare today. Then, once you qualify for Medicare (generally at age 65), you still have a large deductible for Medicare ($1340 in 2018), you still are paying premiums for Medicare Part B (around $130/monthly), you still are paying premiums for prescription drug coverage, and there are many services that Medicare doesn't cover (annual physicals, dental exams, eye exams) that you still have to pay for. From talking to some people, there is a misconception that Medicare covers everything, and you don't have to pay anything once you're 65.

But the biggest problem in health care isn't today's cost. It's tomorrow's cost. Medical costs increase incredibly fast. And a government-owned insurance replacement doesn't fix that. To keep future health care costs lower, you need to increase competition between medical providers (docs and hospitals) and provide more transparent costs of services to the consumer. Then have the government work within that construct to determine what costs to the individuals get subsidized, and for which individuals. Otherwise, doctors and facilities have very little incentive to try to control their costs with an insurance program continuing to pay those costs.

I know this might sound silly but I hope Democrats hit the floor from day 1 with a marketing campaign to combat the right. This is the moment where Democrats must show and get the message out they are WORKING, and WORKING for, the people because already the right is swamping the internet with negative ads about the new Congress. Just using YouTube as an example; It seems as if every video has a right-wing ad proceeding it. I noticed this about a week and a half ago. CRTV and NRATV, of which both organizations claim that they have no money, have swamped YouTube with ads.

First things first: We have to fix all the shit the GOP broke, then we have to fix all the little issues that could have and should have been fixed from the original bill but that the GOP blocked. Then we have to get ALL states to expand Medicaid not just some.

THEN we can work on a public option.

Nothing will pass with Republicans in control of the Senate.

[quote]Nothing will pass with Republicans in control of the Senate.

And, to some extent that's okay. VILIFY THEM!

Wonderful - rationing

We will be stuck doing nothing but talk until mid 2019. Once T Rump decides he's done with playing at being president the repubs will have to face the future without their maximum leader. At that point a smart group on the right will back the LEAST expansive plan to prevent something worse, in their eyes, from passing in 20-21. I hope we don't buy the bargain and hold out for something comprehensive and universal.

Explains where we are. From today. Looks like public option is the next step.

If rather have the whole Healhcare system completely fall apart, with prices so high that no one can afford anything. Only then will Americans realize that single payer is cheaper, covers everyone, and has high quality than the crappy system we have now.

Unfortunately, throughout our history, just as things are about to break, like the economy or healthcare, the Dems come it and mend it a bit. Americans think it’s completely take care of, continue life, and vote back in Republicans. Instead, let it all just fall apart and then fix it.