Paul Krugman:The Swiss Menace

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/opinion/17krugman.html?_r=1


It was the blooper heard round the world. In an editorial denouncing Democratic health reform plans, Investor’s Business Daily tried to frighten its readers by declaring that in Britain, where the government runs health care, the handicapped physicist Stephen Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance,” because the National Health Service would consider his life “essentially worthless.”

Professor Hawking, who was born in Britain, has lived there all his life, and has been well cared for by the National Health Service, was not amused.

Besides being vile and stupid, however, the editorial was beside the point. Investor’s Business Daily would like you to believe that Obamacare would turn America into Britain — or, rather, a dystopian fantasy version of Britain. The screamers on talk radio and Fox News would have you believe that the plan is to turn America into the Soviet Union. But the truth is that the plans on the table would, roughly speaking, turn America into Switzerland — which may be occupied by lederhosen-wearing holey-cheese eaters, but wasn’t a socialist hellhole the last time I looked.

(snip)
So where does Obamacare fit into all this? Basically, it’s a plan to Swissify America, using regulation and subsidies to ensure universal coverage.

If we were starting from scratch we probably wouldn’t have chosen this route. True “socialized medicine” would undoubtedly cost less, and a straightforward extension of Medicare-type coverage to all Americans would probably be cheaper than a Swiss-style system. That’s why I and others believe that a true public option competing with private insurers is extremely important: otherwise, rising costs could all too easily undermine the whole effort.

But a Swiss-style system of universal coverage would be a vast improvement on what we have now. And we already know that such systems work.

So we can do this. At this point, all that stands in the way of universal health care in America are the greed of the medical-industrial complex, the lies of the right-wing propaganda machine, and the gullibility of voters who believe those lies.

...then the insurance companies will keep raising premiums faster than inflation, and the federal government will spend more-and-more as insurance CEOs get richer-and-richer.

Eventually, though, deficits due to this will force both parties to be in favor of cost control. And having 50+ million people be uninsured won't be an option anymore, as it is now. Republicans will either have to face a high marginal tax increase or regulation to clamp down on the insurance industry. I think the latter will be much more palatable to them. In the mean time, the people of the U.S. will all actually have healthcare.

That's what I'm calling them from now on.

I have been calling them by that name since the first looney had their nonsensical rant.

And he tells a good story: "The Swissification of US Healthcare." Got it.

early last fall. When I heard he had moved all his savings out of stocks, bonds & mutuals funds, I did the same and to this day I thank him. If you were paying attention, the writings were on the wall regarding the financial crash just like it is now regarding healthcare. I only hope President Obama & the progressive Dems will stand up to the Medical Industrial Complex and do the right thing.