OK. We know you guys are forgetting in each post to add different increments of cutting costs and revenue sources to downplay the viability of my idea. Don't think that has escaped my or anyone else's notice BTW. So what's your plan? To leave the smokescreen of the hodgepodge system we have in place so you..er.. I mean fraudsters can take advantage of the working sick, make them bankrupt, homeless and suffering because the 10,000% markups on costs at hospitals are "just fine as they are thank you very much!"?
Your plans to protect people's lives like we do with tax money for police, fire and military when it comes to healthcare? Hmm?? If we really don't care whether people live or die...if people really are just a number you can exploit for profit and gain, we should then eliminate police, fire and military protection. You'll probably want the police though...and the tax dollars that pay for them because the men in blue will help keep the masses of growing bankrupt/poor (from a single healthcare crisis in the family) from tearing down your gated community and jacking your house. So yeah, "taxes are OK then". And you'll probably want the military funding because you don't want pesky foreigners invading your gated community. But you've got that nice sprinkler system installed in case of fire...so fire protection can go. Plus, if the sick, working men's houses all burn down, you'll have a better view from your hot tub of the golf course..
Yes, we are downplaying the cost cutting claims, because we've seen how they work. Right now doctors and hospitals are refusing Medicaid and Medicare patients, because the payout is too low. If anything, the cost are going to rise in the next few years, not fall.
In fact, the Medicare Trustees report, openly stated that the cost reduction couldn't be sustained, and payouts would have to rise.
So yes, we are downplaying your claims of cost reduction, because they are not working now, and there is no reason to believe they would work under your system.
I have already told you my plan. Look around the world, and see which system is providing the best care, at the lowest cost. The answer is, free-market capitalist based pay-for-service medical tourism.
So my solution is as follows: Cut regulation. Cut tax incentives. Lower taxes.
Allow anyone to open a hospital. Reduce regulations preventing the opening of new hospitals. Allow competition in the market.
Deregulate the insurance market. Allow more competition.
This would help in hundreds of ways.
Do you know why hospitals have registered nurses with college degrees, to hand out individually wrapped aspirin?
Government regulations require that the hospital can't buy aspirin in bulk. They must buy expensive individually wrapped aspirin.
Additionally, government regulations require that all medication must be handed out by an expensive registered nurse.
You go to a medical tourism hospital in Brazil, they have a low wage intern to give you aspirin, and the aspirin in purchased in 20,000 pill jars.
And then you wonder why our system is more expensive?
Plus, in nearly every single state, they have restrictions on building new hospitals. Even more ironic only existing hospitals can determine if a new hospital can open.
One of the reasons most hospitals don't post prices, is because there isn't another hospital for dozens of miles. They know you are not going to drive hours to different hospitals, and compare prices. So why post the prices? Imagine if there were a half dozen hospitals in each community? Like there are a half dozen car dealership within 5 minutes of my home.
Suddenly they would have to compete on price. Without any government oversight, or regulation, or 'streamlining', there are a half dozen car dealers trying to sell me a car, bending over backwards to make a deal.
Instead, the nearest hospital to me, is in another city, or downtown Columbus. They don't really have to compete on price, because only other option is an hour away.
There are hundreds of examples where regulation and controls, have driven up the price.
Just like regulations on insurance companies, have driven out competition. Before Obama care, Massachusetts had the most highly regulated health insurance market in the country. I punched in my own information, only pretending to be in a zipcode near Boston. What I found was, I had only 4 companies to choose from. In Ohio I had dozens.
Today, the Ohio market looks more like the Mass market. More regulations, means driving out competition, which means higher prices.
After Expanding Under ACA, This Company is Closing Its Doors
Companies that have existed for over a hundred years, are being pushed out by regulations, benefiting the largest insurance companies.
By the way... if you think single payer will eliminate the insurance companies, you are wrong.
Medicare doesn't have teams of bureaucrats filing paperwork across the country in every market. It runs through existing companies. It uses private insurance companies, to process Medicare and Medicaid.
If you think Universal Healthcare is going to eliminate blue cross and blue shield... you are wrong. If anything the CEOs of massive insurance companies will become even more wealthy. Because now they don't even have to do payouts. The government does the payouts. They just get a service fee on every service they process.