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In reply to the discussion: Anger in Sweden as elderly pay price for coronavirus strategy [View all]LiberalLovinLug
(14,173 posts)Every country with universal guaranteed basic healthcare is, in effect, a single payer system.
Because the basic universal healthcare for everyone is federal law. Even in Switzerland. They simply use private insurance companies to provide it. Citizens are required to purchase it. Which is not that much different than a mandated tax in other single payer countries. That vote seems more a case of it not seeming to be worth the logistics of changing it to a pure gov run insurance part, even if it would be cheaper in the end.
But it doesn't mean its efficient:
https://www.vox.com/2014/9/29/6864201/single-payer-switzerland-failed
Every western democracy uses single payer. Swiss do it the most roundabout way and in conjunction with the private insurers. But the most important aspect of every country is that UNIVERSAL BASIC COVERAGE IS MANDATED BY FEDERAL LAW. Whether private large companies top it off for their employees with private extras or not. This is a vast and key fundamental difference to the ACA.
In other countries, federal rights and standards of basic medical coverage for every citizen is law and overseen and enforced at a federal level, whether it is sub-managed by States, Provinces, or private insurers. This is true in Canada, the UK, France....etc..The US is not even close to that happening. That is the crux of any universal medicare system. Now without a strong candidate to fight for it, "it ain't gonna happen" anytime soon. Too bad.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/07/20dems-are-taking-money-healthcare/
"No Democratic candidate has pulled in more from the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries than Biden"
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/403248-poll-seventy-percent-of-americans-support-medicare-for-all
Even as as 70% of Americans and 85% of Democrats say they want single payer.
Whether its fear of a Gob'mint takeover if basic medical coverage is federal law on one side, or fear of losing an election because one doesn't have faith that they can convince enough to see its benefits and defeat the baseless arguments against it:
"Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
But yes.......everyone vote for Biden! And us on the left will keep the pressure up to do the will of the American people.