'My Life Under Single-Payer Healthcare'

[JDPriestly]

1. Thanks. As I have posted so often, I lived in Europe.

This description and the comments pretty much represent my experience, but back when I was using single payer I did not use any private insurance and still had excellent, speedy care. I loved it. I think it would work well in the US.

We would probably have single payer but multiple non-profit (and possibly some limited for-profit) companies giving care. Doctors would be able to accept patients as they wish. In the countries I lived in the doctors did not seem to have a problem with dealing with the single-payer system.

Germany has had single-payer (which does not mean single provider but rather pooling of the payments from patients for insurance so that everyone is insured) since the late 19th century.

The system is not all that new or revolutionary. Our country is just backward about it.

I would suggest that people 50 and over be included in Medicare first. They could opt in or out, but their insurance would be paid as is Medicare from increased taxes on all working people and all capital gains and other sources of income. Also, insurance companies should be non-profit for the basic care. The government states what is in the basic care plan and that is what everyone is entitled to as a basic right. People can pay for more if they wish. That would be my proposal.