BBO Discussion Forums: Affordable and Quality Health Care - BBO Discussion Forums

Maybe a stupid question from an ignorant non-American, but: why don't individual states set up their own health care? Why do they need to wait for the federal government? Are they afraid that all their good tax payers would move to other states if they implemented a policy that would require a drastic raise of the income tax?

Maybe a stupid question from an ignorant non-American, but: why don't individual states set up their own health care? Why do they need to wait for the federal government? Are they afraid that all their good tax payers would move to other states if they implemented a policy that would require a drastic raise of the income tax?

The simple fact is that if you hide the cost of something and make it appear free then the inevitable result is increased demand, which will result in higher prices and/or rationing or long waits (if prices are not allowed to move). In the US or in a country with nationalized health care, there is very little downward pressure on prices because people don't shop around for the lowest prices since the costs are hidden. The insurance companies would like to pay less but all they can do is negotiate after the fact. If you want to control health care costs then only have health insurance for catastrophic events (> $10,000 deductible) and otherwise have health savings accounts and have people compete based on price for those health savings account dollars.

The fundamental presumption of health care as a right is totally ridiculous. What if no one was willing to be a doctor at the prices the government was willing to pay. Would the government then have an obligation to force smart people into medical schools under point of gun? Stop existing doctors from retiring? The whole concept is offensive. Nobody has a right to the productive efforts of anyone else and the only way to guarantee the "right" to health care is the partial enslavement of others.

What is the cost of enforcing Empire with troops stationed around the world, paid mercenaries to bolster the numbers, and warfare to maintain hegemony?

Isn't this the Roman blueprint that failed?

As a nation we seem to always be able to afford the costs of deathcare, but find healthcare too expensive.

Perhaps healthcare cost is not even the issue - maybe it is only a matter of priorities.

Because I didn't see it.

I agree an advanced civilized society has many benefits. What I reject is that civilization is equivalent to government. I would prefer civilization without government but that isn't available to me. Just because I prefer civilization with government to lack of civilization with no government does not mean that I lose my right to lobby for what I think would be a better system. It's like a guy given a choice between getting beaten with a tire iron or a baseball bat and then told to stop complaining during the beating because he was given his choice of form of torture.

Is affordable and quality healthcare a right for American citizens or should it be a choice?
(The question is whether some basic level of healthcare should be considered a right.)

Should the government be authorized to levy tax penalties against its citizens for failure to enroll in any health care plan?
(This has been resolved by the SC and the answer is yes. The question is not legality but whether the quasi-market solution is better or worse than a true universal government provided plan.)

Do American citizens have the right to self-insure for medical services?
(This is a red herring. There is no reason why both basic universal care and extra-cost exceptional care cannot be offered within the same country.)

https://obamacarefac...stof-obamacare/

Never did look up this web site. It answers a lot of questions about Obamacare. Says the average plan after subsidies is $82 a month for all plans but that sounds very low. Hmmm.

https://obamacarefac...stof-obamacare/

Never did look up this web site. It answers a lot of questions about Obamacare. Says the average plan after subsidies is $82 a month for all plans but that sounds very low. Hmmm.

From the website above, "The US healthcare system is expensive, the most expensive in the world. That is due to many factors including the quality of our care, the general cost of things in America, the sheer amount of folks employed by healthcare system, and general fraud, waste, and abuse."

IMO, the idea of a wasteful industry which resists efforts to streamline itself may be the crux of the problem. It's not only about the US Govt subsidised cost of insurance, but the idea that insurance is expensive because the healthcare system is profligate.

Perhaps this shouldn't be something that the Federal Govt alone needs to tackle. The State Govts, regulatory authorities, citizen groups etc can also help.

Isn't that the point of government-subsidized health insurance? It needs to be very low so that poor people can afford it.

But I wonder if that's just the regular monthly costs, and doesn't include other out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-pays.

Perhaps this shouldn't be something that the Federal Govt alone needs to tackle. The State Govts, regulatory authorities, citizen groups etc can also help.

Meanwhile, progressive groups began laying the groundwork to attend senators’ public events, while medical providers and groups representing Americans with chronic illnesses predicted that the bill could leave millions without access to adequate medical care. The Congressional Budget Office concluded Monday that the measure would cause an estimated 22 million more Americans to be uninsured by the end of the coming decade while reducing federal spending by $321 billion.

Atul Grover, executive vice president of the Association of American Medical Colleges, told reporters that he and other doctors “take it personally” that the bill would lock people out of insurance for six months if they go for 63 days without a health plan and try to sign up for one the next year.

“We’re there at the bedside,” Grover said, adding that none of his members would be willing to tell a patient: “I’m sorry about your stage-four cancer. Come back in six months, when your insurance kicks in.”

WASHINGTON — A once-quiet effort by governors to block the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act reached its climax in Washington on Tuesday, as state executives from both parties — who have conspired privately for months — mounted an all-out attack on the Senate’s embattled health care legislation hours before Republicans postponed a vote.

At the center of the effort has been a pair of low-key moderates: Gov. John R. Kasich, Republican of Ohio, and Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, Democrat of Colorado, who on Tuesday morning called on the Senate to reject the Republican bill and to negotiate a bipartisan alternative.

Just before Senate Republicans delayed a vote on the bill, Mr. Kasich denounced his own party’s legislation in biting terms, saying it would victimize the poor and mentally ill, and redirect tax money “to people who are already very wealthy.”

“This bill,” Mr. Kasich said, “is unacceptable.”