Will we ever have a "single payer" public insurance system here?

[SHRED]

Single-Payer National Health Insurance

~snip~

Single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money. The potential savings on paperwork, more than $400 billion per year, are enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do.

Under a single-payer system, all Americans would be covered for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs. Patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care.

Physicians would be paid fee-for-service according to a negotiated formulary or receive salary from a hospital or nonprofit HMO / group practice. Hospitals would receive a global budget for operating expenses. Health facilities and expensive equipment purchases would be managed by regional health planning boards.

A single-payer system would be financed by eliminating private insurers and recapturing their administrative waste. Modest new taxes would replace premiums and out-of-pocket payments currently paid by individuals and business. Costs would be controlled through negotiated fees, global budgeting and bulk purchasing.

~snip~

http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single-payer-resources

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My hunch is no considering the commercialization of insurance providers and pharmaceutics.
The fact that investors own stocks in the stock market and prescription drugs are advertised on television tells me extracting these would be a task that our politicians have neither the will nor the financial backing to do so.

--


--

[the other one]

1. Don't hold your breath

Single-payer is coming with the end of the drug war.

[still_one]

2. The last and only chance for single payer was 2008. That opportunity will not happen again /nt

[Proud Liberal Dem]

16. Really?

n/t

[still_one]

22. not in my lifetime /nt

[BeyondGeography]

3. You can add the Supreme Court to the list of problems

Citizens United, corpos are people too...and can you imagine them letting any (unfathomable, since CU guarantees that politicians on both sides of the aisle are bought-and-paid-for) successful attempt at overturning the health insurance industry's antitrust exemption stand?

[banned from Kos]

4. No. Our model is built on $500,000 salaries for docs and specialists

My sister is office manager for a cardio partnership. They base at $750,000 a year before distribution of profits.

(single payer works in France/Canada because they manage salaries)

[Scuba]

7. Insurance execs are making hundreds of millions. n/t

[nichomachus]

19. That's an exception

I know a few doctors. I don't know anyone who is making anywhere close to $500,000 -- in fact, much much less.

[Scuba]

5. Not until after the next revolution. n/t

[vi5]

6. No. (N/T)

[valerief]

8. If Single Payer means rich people won't get richer, then we'll NEVER see Single Payer. nt

[jtrockville]

36. The rich ALWAYS get richer. Question is: Will the poor get richer too?

If we had an "everyone in" health care system, it would go a long way towards helping the poor get richer.

[OHdem10]

9. Yes, but we have to endure a lot of pain getting there. Since we

Americans either choose to ignore history and the
others REWRITE history, we never learn and therefore
repeat history--terrible mistakes and all.

The Republicans are insisting on pulling a Herbert Hoover
all over again. Just as in 1929, when Hoover believing
Deficit Reducation was the answer to our problems at
that, the current Crop of Republicans are hell bent
to repeat History. Hoover tightened up and cut spending
and we had the Crash ending in the Great Depression.
Republicans have chosen to ignore this and try to blame
Smoot Hawley . Tariffs) Of course they will never accept
the fact that Contracting the Economy when it is fragile
is ruinous. Some Democrats seem to have drunk Republican
Kool Aid or fear of Tea Party today has muddled their
thinking.

Cutting to the chase, Leading up to the Depression, Wall
St. had played similar antics as today. There are books
already written by people working on Wall St just before
the current meltdown. They do comparisons of 1929 and
Today and there is an eerie similarity.

Ignoring the History and believing their own REVISIONIST
History, the Republicans given power will pull a Herbet Hoove
throw us into a Seond GREAT DEPRESSION. It may take this
to make the Sheeple on the right finally understand that
the Republican Party is and always has been the Party
of Business. They must look out for Business Interest.
What is good for Business is not always good for America.
The People will finally understand this and Times will
be so bad, they will be willing to listen to other's ideas.

To bring us from the Ruins--Some Leader will help the
American People Understand that One Economic Theory does
not work in all circumstances. Keynes brought us out
of the First Great Depression. If the Republicans win
and throw us into a second Great Depression--Yes History
will Repeat itself. Just as FDR saved Capitalism and
Democracy, someone will be there once again and bring
us a rational form of Health Care for all.


s

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. I think we may see certain states implement a single-payer-like plan.

When politicians can be bribed for an exclusive contract that insures everyone in that state with tax dollars, I think there's a lot of potential to see more of this. This already goes on with so many other things.

I don't think there will ever be a federal plan or any truly public plans. The cartels are just too powerful.

[OHdem10]

12. Vermont is working on Single Payer and Gov Scweitzer is seeking

permission to do the same.

[Shagbark Hickory]

25. Yes, these are the single-payer-like systems that I refer to.

Government subsidized HMOs really. Not to play down the huge advancement that they are but it's not exactly a public option either.
TEchnically it is a single payer plan, only the payer is a private insurance company.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

18. If I remember correctly

single payer started up province-by-province in Canada and became nationalized later. I expect that, like with same-sex marriage, SP will come about from the bottom up and not from the top down. Assuming that Obama's health care reform law is ultimately implemented, government will have gotten at least a toe in the door. :shrug:

[Shagbark Hickory]

24. Actually, it never nationalized in Canada. It's still run by the provinces. n/t

[Proud Liberal Dem]

32. Thanks for the correction.

At any rate, I think that a state-by-state solution is the likely outcome here.

[Shagbark Hickory]

33. Really? I mean... what kind of healthcare system do you think your state will set up?

I'm not a fan of the whole waivers thing. States can't be trusted.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

Dupe

Delete

[Proud Liberal Dem]

34. My state will be one of the last to set up any kind of SP system I'm pretty sure

However, Vermont and Montana are moving towards SP via waivers, so, assuming they are successful, I think that the idea will spread- certainly to other progressive states such as Massachusetts. I wouldn't expect any federal action towards SP anytime soon but states can certainly start moving in that direction.

[queenjane]

11. I'm more likely to become Queen of England

The money being made by doctors, researchers, big Pharma, big research orgs, insurance companies, etc., is so astronomical that these entities will never, never, never allow a system that will curtail the unfettered flow of big bucks. Imagine the devastation to the insurance industry alone. The horror!

We desperately need drug price controls. All that sturm und drang about the outrageous drug prices being necessary for research? Yeah, well, I work in drug R&D, and most of those $$$ ain't going to the actual drug development. They're going to pay the sky-high hourly rates of CEOs, administrators, managers, PhDs, and med docs at research organizations who might put in an hour a week on the actual research trial. Then there's flying all of the above to conferences in Europe for a one-hour meeting twice a year. Yes, the advertising of the resulting compound that may--or may not--have any effect on a health condition, gobbles up millions, but the major expenditures are on big-name academics whose reputations help get these drugs approved. Most of what we do at my place is test other applications for currently approved drugs to keep them from going off patent so soon. The waste of dollars--much of it tax money--is revolting.

But no, we will never have "socialized" medicine (after all, govt is evil, doncha know?), nor will any politician suggest controlling drug prices (cos that interferes with every American's right to rack in mega-cash).
:banghead:

[RC]

13. Yes, but first we have to over throw our self appointed rulers.

If worst comes to worst, maybe some guillotine parties to let them know we mean business.

[salinen]

14. Never

this is a brutal nation which celebrates violence and war. This dead culture will not accept compassion because it might reveal a human side.

[City Lights]

15. Not in my lifetime. eom

[lovuian]

17. Yes it is economics

the GDP of America is Military and Healthcare

that is the war
to be competitive all around the world
Bernanke said it
Universal Healthcare would help solve that problem

It is a reality that must be faced

[fascisthunter]

20. yes, we will eventually

[Javaman]

21. only when we get...

1) a non-corporate controlled supreme court

2) a non-corporate controlled congress

3) a non-corporate controlled presidency.

in other words, don't hold your breath.

[Octafish]

23. That was one big reason I proudly voted for the Obama-Biden ticket.

I don't really know what happened to that plank after they won, though.

[ThomWV]

29. Me too, and now I see where that got us. I voted to eliminate the Bush Tax Cuts too.

And those are just two of the disappointments. But the one thing I really wanted to see was the Justice Department step up and put people in jail for the rape of this country. That didn't happen either.

[Octafish]

30. The Wars, were big, too.

What you said, ThomWV...



...about Justice and war criminals.

Then, again, we both remember thinking Don Siegelman would be cleared and the DoJ cleared out of the criminals.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

35. They need to unleash Biden.

He's being muzzled and I'm sad. I love that guy and I want him to start UNLEASHING.

[Rex]

26. NO.

[SHRED]

27. Mexico has a better health insurance system now than the USA

[SOS]

28. No

Not as long as corporations own and operate the US Congress.

[mmonk]

31. Not without revolution.

Join OWS.