 |
| Americans pay 100s of billions of $ for health insurance. A single-payer system would save us all money. |
I'm all in favor of helping everyone see a doctor when they are feeling ill. I also gladly accept the health insurance my employer offers. But health insurance isn't a good investment for anyone. To hear Republicans talk, you'd think everyone in America can easily afford health insurance. I guess when your career consist of running for political office and you don't have to pay for health insurance that must seem like reality. For the rest of us, all those premiums come from somewhere. My family pays nearly $1,000 a month for health insurance.
Private health insurance was a popular way to attract employees during World War II. The government imposed price and wage controls on the economy. Companies couldn't outbid each other for rare engineering talent. So instead of offering higher salaries they began offering "benefits", including health insurance.
By 2016 the Republican Party had come to the mistaken idea that private health insurance is guaranteed to everyone who works. People who work a freelance job don't have health insurance. They can't afford it because of the way health insurance is rated.
Companies are not allowed to sell national health insurance policies. Insurance is regulated at the state level. That means there is no national health insurance market. One of the reasons why Obamacare has been plagued with problems is that insurance companies pull out of unprofitable markets. It would be better for everyone if an insurance company could spread its costs across the entire nation. Instead, they have to make a profit on premiums on a county-by-county basis.
If you ask any capitalism-loving Republican if automobile companies should work that way they would say you're crazy. The best way to control costs is to scale up production so that you can get your raw materials and labor at lower costs. The same principle holds for providing health care.
Drug vendors can set their own prices and they charge Americans more than they charge Europeans for the same drugs. That's because national healthcare systems in Europe have stronger negotiating power. Here in the United States insurance companies and hospitals have to negotiate for everything from a weak, localized position.
There is no way the Republican Party can provide better health care than the Affordable Care Act. They won't do what is needed to help millions of American families get basic health care. The only answer to our health care crisis is Bernie Sanders' single-payer health care system.
If we get rid of the insurance industry and just put everyone on Medicare costs will come down as the government renegotiates everything. People worry about "how will we pay for this". That's a stupid question. Obviously we'll take all the money being spent on health insurance now and use that to pay for the single payer system. It's just a smarter, more efficient way to use our money. It's what a good capitalist would call "negotiating from a market dominant position".
People who worry about socialism are just being stupid. We already have a single national defense system. All the states gave up their rights to maintain their own armies. That's socialism, right there from the start of the country. We also have national parks, national highway systems, and national law enforcement. That's all socialism. And don't get me started on Social Security. We are a socialist country and we have been from the start. We need a national health care system that ensures everyone has fair access to good health care.
It won't be free but our current health care system isn't free now. A single-payer health care system will be less expensive and more honest.
