It is time for the Democrats to redefine “Medicare for All” as the less catchy “Medicare Advantage for All.” Killing the entire health insurance industry replaced by a government owned and run health care system is untenable in America.
Medicare Advantage gives Medicare over to private insurance companies who pay the 20% Medicare does not pay, with very low or non existent deductibles and copays. They profit from it by taking the $120 a month paid to Medicare for Part B, which is deducted from your SS when you turn 65 so it is money you don’t see anyway. Free to you.
All of the nations on Earth have it with the exception of most all of Africa, Colombia, Ecuador, the Muslims theocracies and the United States.
The civilized nations have declared health care a human right and follow three rules:
1) Everyone is covered
2) Paid for by a payroll tax
3) The majority use existing health insurance companies to dispense the system in non profit mode, their profit comes from supplemental and concierge plans which they have the database to market effectively.
The people of those civilized nations pay about 40% less than we do and overall 50% less of GNP with better outcomes.
Our system of employer health care has been in free fall for a generation, it is costing employees more for less with deductibles gone through the roof.
The fix is simple. Just like employers pay half of SS, they can pay half or all of the employee’s payroll tax. Or offer supplemental plans.
So why is America the only wealthy nation without it?
Socialism? Hardly, all nations, including the United States, plays the tug of war between socialism and capitalism.
I had somewhat of an epiphany researching how the rest of the world does it. I found that the single payer nation with the most blacks was Australia with 1.5% to our 12.7%.
And with that comes the most universal complaint from the soul of the Republican rank and file. Which like you, I have heard it a gigamegatrilazillion times…
I DON’T WANT MY HARD EARNED TAX MONEY GOING TO THOSE….