I have an idea of how we can get universal health care in the back door

in the future. I know that NHC will never get off the table because of the powerful health industry and drug lobby. However, what if the government (after Bush of course and when we have control of one of the houses) offers Medicare to companies and unions?

The idea has been floated of extending Medicare to all and this would be workable. Medicare does need some overhauling to cover more than it does and to pay health care providers fees that they will be satisfied with. Right now payment schedules lag behind the present day's costs of running a medical practice.

But Medicare can operate for less than the privatized health care industries can. The government could offer Medicare coverage comparable to regular insurance coverage for about half the price undercutting the private health industry for better and more comprehensive coverage.

It would also bring in much needed revenue that can be used for health care instead of high administrative costs including over payed and overcompensated executives. Also, there wouldn't be any shareholders to distribute profits to. I say cut out the middle man and get more health care to those who need it. Putting up Medicare to compete against private insurance should be acceptable to the RW corporatists who think health care should be part of the free market.

There could be a place for private insurance in medi-gap coverage. Here they could offer policies like they do now to seniors to pick up what Medicare doesn't pay, like the deductibles and co-pays. This would be offered to individuals and to any companies who might want to pick up the tab. Medic-aid could kick in for the poor and unemployed like it does today.

The thing about extending Medicare is that the bureaucracy is already in place and running smoothly. It would have to be increased, but there are the experienced workers there to train the new ones, who probably will be laid off workers from the insurance industry.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0112-37.htm

An essential part of our progressive vision is an America where no citizen of any age fears the cost of health care, and no employer refuses to create new jobs or cuts back on current jobs because of the high cost of providing health insurance.

The answer is Medicare, whose 40th birthday we will celebrate in July. I propose that as a 40th birthday gift to the American people, we expand Medicare over the next decade to cover every citizen - from birth to the end of life.

It's no secret that America is still dearly in love with Medicare. Administrative costs are low. Patients' satisfaction is high. Unlike with many private insurers, they can still choose their doctor and their hospital.

Gingrich and company want to do, it should be increased in scope to cover more than just seniors.

costs, better than insurance companies. Just the added paperwork associated with all the various insurance companiy plans adds about 25% to overall costs.

administrative cost. The rest is used for health care. With the privatized companies, not only is there the paperwork, but being beholden to the shareholders and gluttonous recompensation to executives.

Under "bi-partisan" watch though.

a.m. progressive talk show.

I have heard proponents saying that Medicare should be extended to all. However, no one seems to propose competing with the privatized health industry to accomplish this.

All I know is that she was talking about it being a possible solution to the crisis. I don't know if she meant just for those who don't have insurance, as a replacement for all other insurance, as competition, or what.

Sorry.

Also, offer the CHIP program to more children by raising age and income limitations.

Greg

Eventually, this should drive the profiteers out and then all those programs can be rolled into one efficient single payer system.

We have a terrible time getting insurance at a decent price.

who aren't covered by it already, to compete with the regular insurance and HMO industries. The difference would be that Medicare wouldn't cherry pick the healthy nor charge more for those with higher liabilities like the insurance industry does now. Nor would it be able to discontinue coverage because someone got cancer or kidney failure. So yes, it would be a godsend to the self-employed.

and amen

It would need a real Rx plan, not this fake Part D, help-the-pharmaceutical-industry monstrosity.

But first of all, we need a Dem Congress and a Dem prez.

in Congress. I believe this was tried successfully with Worker's Comp at one time in California. Worker's Comp. got so expensive that the state started selling WC to businesses who couldn't get coverage but were required to by law. Soon everyone was buying off the state, but somehow the private insurance industry got thier noses back into it and now WC is out in the stratosphere again.

from the most expensive health care, and would provide a safety net for people too young for social security/medicare...and would give some peace of mind for people who get outsourced/downsized. It sucks to have that happen, but with some healthcare, a lower paying job could at least be cushioned a bit.

employers a choice. We will never get the for profit health care industry out if they think they stand to be replaced, but make them compete with government backed health care and it should be a different story. Let the best man win. It might be that Medicare will pick up only those that the insurance industry doesn't want at first. It's a start. Then offering better coverage for less cost should appeal to companies I would think eventually.

on this issue. Everyone else in the country is getting hammered.

Because it affects everyone it really seems like this is an issue where the parties could set aside their default opposition and get something done.

Democrats should challenge the R's to do something about healthcare in order to save businesses and pension plans.

they did with the Medicare prescription drug plan. Anything they do is going to put taxpayers' money into the pockets of corporations and it won't benefit anyone. I will be paying the same or more for my drugs with this plan, because the drug companies will be able to charge more so they aren't losing anything.

and we are awaken to the morning cries of "bring out your dead."

I have spent the last 18 years working with health care polices and there is no one out there ready to think about universal health care. To many self-interested people involved...plus the those who have and don't care if anyone else does.

Robert Riche just did a piece about how we should drop health care as an employer benefit...take all that money and pay for universal health care.

What we need is a medical care service with more Marcus Welby and less Ken Lay.

dollars that are paid out as an employer benefit should go for universal health care. The problem is that it won't as long as you frame the debate that way. The health care industry is a giant that bites really hard when they are threatened. So my proposal is to offer this alongside the private plans to employers. Now I know the first to bite will be the self-employed, those with workers that are over fifty and those who can't get insurance any other way but can pay for it.

Eventually, I hope employers will buy the cheaper coverage for all their employees. This will get more of those health care dollars into Medicare. Eventually, I believe we might be able to combine all the different government plans out there into one efficient system. By that time the for profit health care industry should be fairly irrelevant.

I hope you get more eyeballs for this, Cleita. It's really a great issue post.

I don't understand why business isn't more receptive to universal health care since it's a big problem for both existing workers and pensions. We really need a solution on this one, and this is an idea that seems like it could work.

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except for the insurers themselves, who will spend an INSANE amount of money lobbying against it if need be. remember how much they spent to kill hillary's efforts.

this is often the way it is. "business" is not a monolithic entity, and often it is only the one affected industry that feels strongly about a particular issue; the rest of the business world might not care or even be opposed, but their voice is drowned out against the spending, spinning, and lobbying of the one industry.

citizens. It's not good for the country as a whole, yet, through a system of legalized bribery, the only business that gets done is what K-street wants. The lobbyist's voice drowns out the interests of people, whether they run a business or work for a business. The health care disaster is a disaster for most of the people in this country, while those who profit continue to profit by buying influence. For crying out loud Congress, drop the doily! Why is big pharma a big donor and has a big bill to show for it?

:kick:

Democrats have lots of good ideas, the GOP just doesn't want to hear them. We really need to put the CARE back in healthcare. This is a real life, ruining lives issue.

are suffering because their health care costs have been cut completely. This is a great idea...

Didn't Santos talk about it in the debates? I hadn't heard it before.

Insurance companies create more paperwork than is necessary. They increase the office costs for the doctors and hospitals as well. When my spouse had surgery, it was totally covered by his insurance but the doctor's office had to bill the insurance company three times, each time getting 1/3 payment. This was outrageous. Did the insurance company think the doctor would forget and just write off some of the bill?

This is not a new idea and has been out there since Clinton promised to bring us NHC. However, extending Medicare to all up front sends red flags up with the health care industry and they have powerful lobbies to beat down any suggestion of doing this.

This is why I thought, why not offer companies Medicare in competition with the insurance companies and HMO's? It would be a way of starting to bring Medicare to everyone and the corporations would have a choice of what health insurance to buy for their employees. The for profit companies would still be in the market but they would have to compete with Medicare. My bet is that Medicare could offer better coverage for less money or as it has been suggested for half the money that is spent today on health care premiums.

Here's to recommend #11
:kick:

The more I think about it, the more it seems the solution you propose requires a closer look. Nice work!

I have been studying health care reform for a long time and have come to the conclusion that we need a plan like Canada's. However, I kept running into this brick wall known as the for profit health care and pharma industries. Like the Trojan horse of old, instead of trying to breach the walls, we go in through the gate and fight them on their own turf with their own rules.

And we can't do this for our own people? The GOP is a disgrace. Where is the outrage from the phoney fundies?

Nutz. This country has went totally bonkers under the GOP Nutz!

I would like to see this or something very similar become a high priority in the next election cycle.