General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: By Ditching the Public Option, Obama Gave His Enemies a Path to the Supreme Court [View all]Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)allowing Americans under 65 to buy into Medicare. Medicare's main problem is that it insures only the oldest and therefore sickest and frailest Americans. If there were more younger healthier people participating (and paying the same fees that seniors pay), it would help the finances a lot--which is precisely why the Republicanites want to RAISE the age of ability and not only force 65-69-year-olds to buy really, really, really expensive private insurance but also skew the finances of Medicare even further, since the older you are, the more likely you are to develop heart disease, strokes, cancer, etc.
I remember asking the DUers on the UK forum about private insurance in their country. They said that both private insurers and private practice doctors were aware that if they price-gouged, their customers could always go back to the NHS, so this kept prices down.