2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Do you buy into the single payer fantasy of Sanders? [View all]freedom fighter jh
(1,782 posts)There are millions of uninsured and more millions of underinsured who want to have a choice about going to a doctor when they are sick, rather than simply being unable to afford to do so.
Probably, though, you meant a choice among medical plans. I don't think there's anything in Bernie's plan that would forbid doctors from practicing privately, or patients from going to them. That's how they do in Canada.
Perhaps, though, you are thinking that folks can't afford to pay for doctors outside their plans once they are paying so much in tax to support their plan. That will be the case for some. But most will be paying less in tax than they pay now in premiums. (What is your basis for questioning Bernie's numbers? Single payer will have to be less expensive than what we've got now because (1) In countries that that have it, costs are less than ours (while outcomes are better) and (2) the enormous profits of insurance companies will no longer be part of the cost.) If they occasionally need to see a doctor outside their plan, they can probably afford to do so more easily than they can now.
That was, actually, my experience when I switched from Blue Cross to Kaiser. My premiums went down by about 40% and overall I was, and remain, happy with Kaiser's treatment of me, but Kaiser would not cover my chiropractor, who is not on their plan. I found I could go to her all I needed and still save a boatload over what I had been paying Blue Cross. Best of all, when some unexpected health issue came up I could go to Kaiser with absolutely no worry about how to pay for it.
I really don't understand your basis for saying Bernie can't deliver. Surely he cannot deliver everything right away. That's not to say he can't make enormous improvements.