This whole Republican health care debacle ignores the inhumanity of their plan.
Health care is really a moral obligation to treat the sick and save lives. The ethical side of health care should state clearly it would be utterly repugnant to profit from these services. But that's not the debate we're having.
The New England Journal of Medicine put together a list of industrialized nations "universal health care" systems. It's fascinating reading, and maybe a little frustrating as well. After looking at other country's evolving efforts, and what they found worked and didn't, nothing they've done is reflected in Paul Ryan's plan. Ryan is basically reinventing the wheel here.
The Basics: I found 4 basic elements; mandatory participation, a comprehensive government plan with oversight, and supplemental funding for generally older citizens paid for the young.
Nothing in Ryan's plan echoes what other country's have already evolved to. Ryan is building an experimental flawed system that will impact every American, with no do-overs.
Best Health Care "Reform" Explanation: John Oliver does a thorough job of shredding the obvious problems in Ryan's plan, problems the media simply touches on but doesn't decisively say won't work. It's a fast 18 minutes:
No one deserves Tucker Carlson's narrowly focused snarky questioning than Paul Ryan. Ryan firmly stays within his ideological vision, at the expense of peoples lives, so he can reward the wealthy with bigger and more ghoulish tax cuts. Even Tucker can't believe it...:
Ryan lied when he said the ACA had open enrollment for the entire year. It doesn't; Nov. 1 through Dec 15 isn't a year last time I checked. The other choice: "You can enroll in or change your Health Insurance Marketplace plan only if you have a life event that qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period." Anyone up for a life event?
Unbelievably, Ryan's plan would only allow for a once in a lifetime signup period for first time insurance purchasers, who would then have to keep paying their premiums without a break - forever - or be penalized. And that penalty would be a 30 percent increase on premiums for one year, putting affordability out of reach for most people. Republicans are guided by their suspicion that most people want to game the system, so punishment is always their top priority.
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