Why can't we just go to the Docter and then in turn he or she bills the Government?
Frederick makes a point that I was about to make: all the proposals floated these days are not "socialized medicine"; rather, they are socialized funding of health care costs. Perhaps to the right-wing noise machine, there's no difference, but for everyone else, the difference is simple: in all the American single-payer systems, and even in this neither-fish-nor-fowl, universal-but-privately-paid health care system being proposed by a couple of the Democratic candidates, you still get to choose your medical care provider. That's very important to most of us, and it is dishonest of the righties to gloss over it.
For genuine socialized medicine, where doctors work for the guvmint, you'll need to go to Britain; even other major Western European countries don't have it.
I'll have more to say below about Krugman's analysis.
Regarding Krugman: right now, I happen to be reading COAL (his own abbreviation for Conscience of a Liberal), specifically, Chapter 11 on health care. *
Krugman's assumption is that the American insurance industry, along with Big Pharma, has the power and money to defeat any actual single-payer system, using the dauntingly successful "Harry and Louise" approach, coupled with the purchase of a few presidential candidates. (Is anyone shocked?)
He sees this private-insurance emulation of single-payer as being the best we can do, given the political realities. Some versions... I haven't read his column or blog today, because I've been too busy reading his book... have Medicare-for-all as a sort of backstop plan, to assure universality and to force private insurers to compete with something. He makes a decent argument that such a plan, despite best efforts of the private insurers, could become the preferred choice of citizens. I don't know, but it's worth reading his analysis... apparently written in June of this year... for more perspective on what he is proposing.
(* I can just see the headline now: "Steve Bates in Chapter 11" ...)
I agree with Huckabee----eliminate the IRS altogether.
Thanks for the information on topics.I was excited for this article.
Thank you again.
Insurance information for good ideas.
Medicare for all is the only rational system and the cheapest way to go. If the automakers can't get decent rates from the insurance industry what makes anyone think individuals will be able to do it?
The insurance industry is most of the problem and they don't intend to sacrifice their profits for any solution.
Commenting by HaloScan
