While Republicans argue paying nearly twice as much is worth the price freedom and smaller government, I would save that money so I can buy a set of theater chairs for my living room.
My conservative friend would find it repugnant to have the largess of government bargain down the price of care. But since it's such a big part of GDP, it's time to take control and set the prices we're willing to pay:
Single-payer systems tend to have lower administrative costs than those with many private insurance companies, where doctors and hospitals devote lots of time to figuring out who is supposed to pay them what amount. One 2011 study in the journal Health Affairs estimated that American doctors spend four times as much money interacting with healthcare payers than their Canadian counterparts.
Single-payer systems also have an advantage when it comes to bargaining down prices. Because doctors and pharmaceutical companies basically have no choice but to accept the terms laid out by the government, single-payer systems often feature much, much lower prices than systems. The United States, for instance, pays much more for most health-care services than single-payer systems do. It’s worth noting that many multi-payer systems, like Germany, achieve similar savings to single-payer systems by having the government set health care prices.
I am all for single payer as long as the premiums paid to the government run insurance plan are equal across the board for all.
ReplyDeleteI would change you wording from willing to pay to "ability to pay."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the coverage on this topic.
Single payer is the same for everyone, everywhere, anywhere, any doctor and any hospital. Not to confusing.
ReplyDeleteI guess liberals and progressives won't be happy until everything costs an arm and a leg. Hopefully they will ram through a vote on Sunday without reading it AGAIN! Good luck paying for this mess. Seems to be working well in Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc. Etc.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-04-30/single-payer-would-make-health-care-worse
Good luck paying for this...? How much trouble have you had paying into Medicare on checks?
ReplyDeleteThat's why single payer is so much better, everyone pays in a small amount, prices are held down, and no paperwork. Doctor like it, hospitals too.
I read through the Bloomberg link, and it's so crazy, missing the fact that the Great Recession stopped much of the health care increases, that ObamaCare stunted the growth, and that being the richest nation in the world doesn't make me rich or more able to pay much higher prices.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pathetically ridiculous but impressively written article.