Suck it Trumpanzees.

Where's the money coming from?

I love the idea. But the money IS an issue.

But if we decide to expand our health coverage with that massive budget surplus, pretty soon it'll be all spent. Then what?

This sort of program needs to be budgeted over time, with plans to keep the money coming in to run it on a steady basis. A big surplus doesn't last forever. We've gotten into this trap before and we run out of money. It's no good to spend our surplus this way.

What type of a system would you implement if you were in power in your state?

I tend to agree with you, we should implement broader healthcare coverage, but how to pay for it needs to be a central question that gets answered.

No worries and I thank you for your measured and sensible response.

I am not an expert in these matters. I really have no idea on how it could be financed. Indeed, the experts don't agree on how to do it. Some think that it's crazy to even consider it.

Honest, well meaning people are all over the place on universal coverage.

What I think could work is a two tiered approach. Anyone 50 or older should be allowed to buy into Medicare, those that don't have the money get covered by Medicaid. Medicare and Medicaid would then act as single payer plans and also get to negotiate on drug pricing.

Anyone 49 and younger would buy into the ACA, with no income cap on participation, but an income cap on payment assistance, but that cap going up to $250,000 per year for a family of 4, $100,000 per year for a single and $160,000 per year for a childless couple. My experience and observations are that wealthier people tend to be healthier, getting a greater mass of people participating in the ACA would help. In addition, large and medium sized companies should be allowed to buy into the ACA with them paying an annual fee for doing so.

Undocumented immigrants can be dealt with as a seperate group, but that requires sensible immigration reform. Everyone here that is undocumented should be allowed to identify themselves and get "blue cards". A blue card holder would have two choices, to go back home knowing that they can return on the blue card for work, or declare that they want to stay here and work toward citizenship. Those chosing to stay and work toward citizenship would have to serve a 7 year waiting period before they can start the citizenship track, once they are on that track normal procedures would apply. For medical care, blue card holders should be required to pay income taxes, social security taxes and Medicare taxes, with 50% of their income taxes, 100% of their social security taxes and 100% of their Medicare taxes going into a blue card insurance pool, blue card holders would get medical coverage cards that will allow them to access medical care with a small and affordable copayment. Blue card holders that go back home would face caps on how much they can use the system, not getting out more that they pay in, the same would apply to blue card holders that chose to stay and wait for the citizenship track to start. Once a blue card holder starts the citizenship track, they should be moved into the ACA, Medicaid or Medicare insurance pools.

To limit future blue card holders that plan to stay, we should work with the governments of their countries to develop sound enforcement of their laws, promote social equity so that former indigeous people are given equal societal treatment, and work with them to develop stable economies in their countries.


Not a perfect system, but I think it would be a good start to getting us to universal healthcare coverage.

we promote a proper tax rate. And we can institute it now, get people to appreciate the program, and then figure out how to pay for whatever parts aren't entirely ironed out later...you know, how the GOP fucks us hard by doing that with tax cuts, etc. The only difference is we have buyers remorse when they do it. If we roll out something good, the American people will get behind funding it once they appreciate the fruits of the program.

and have no way to benefit from their entitlements. That's a fact, Jack, and to Hell with republican spin that they are nothing but freeloaders.