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In reply to the discussion: The Urban Institute's Attack On Single Payer: Ridiculous Assumptions Yield Ridiculous Estimates [View all]Progressive dog
(6,900 posts)are abusing the math. Really really simple. If $3.4 trillion er year is spent on health care and the federal government pays for about 30% of it, the (1-.3)X$3.4 trillion =$2.38 trillion per year that the feds do not pay for. If we forget inflation (and just pretend that free health care will not be used more than expensive health care), then, over ten years 10 X $2.38 trillion or $23.8 trillion will have to be raised in new taxes.
Of course health care spending is market related. People do worry about their health and they will use more care if it is free.
Even so, the $18 trillion new federal cost over the next decade assume $5.38 trillion in savings and no inflation. In other words, for those who are math challenged, health care will cost huge amounts of money, as it already does, and everybody who can do simple math should know it.