Seawytch
Information isnt Advocacy
No doubt they're afraid that it would be true single-payer, and that's understandable.Personally, I think it will be the business community that drives us to a single payer healthcare system. We know we only get things in this country if Big Corp wants them and single payer is great for businesses.Yes, taking the monkey off the back of American business would be a savings of both premiums and administrative dollars. That's a positive in an increasingly competitive global business environment.Employers shouldn't have anything to do with health care.
Expanding the current Medicare/Medicare Supplement/Medicare Advantage program to all would take a massive monkey off the back of American business.
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How big of monkey? I am thinking you are saying, cost. Say tomorrow all employer based insurance went away and everyone had to buy insurance on the marketplace, what do you think companies would do other then jump for joy? They wouldn't give the employees a dime, they would keep the savings for themselves.
Don't believe me? Companies are dropping employees from promised health care everyday due to retirement. Unions are even agreeing. When they do this does the company give one cent to help defray the cost they had previously promised to pay? Hell not they keep the savings all for themselves.
That all said, I still think it would be better if everyone went on the marketplace and cost was evened out.
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Plus, all the above would really mess with their infrastructure, and that's understandable too. When Medicare Advantage came out, the participating insurers were given help with that, so that might be an option.
The freaking system is up, running, and works. This whole issue is pretty frustrating.
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You're speaking of insurance companies being opposed to single payer, but the REST of the business community will be the driver of the US towards a single payer-like system.
They will point to Canada, Mexico, Japan, etc and say "why should I do business in the US where I have to pay more for employee health care"?