Why Trump Needs To Hang Out w/Justin Trudeau More
By Thom Hartmann A...
After a month on the job, Donald Trump is finally starting to grasp some of the basic facts of American politics.
He's finally figured out, for example, that healthcare policy is really, really complicated.
"Now, I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated... tax cutting has never been that easy, but it's a tiny, little ant compared to what we're talking about with Obamacare."
Actually, everybody knew healthcare was this complicated, which is why they warned Trump not to repeal Obamacare.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
There actually is a way to streamline this whole process - and make the American healthcare as simple as pie.
It's called single-payer healthcare - and all Trump would need to do to make it a reality here in the US as it is in developed nations like Canada would be take that Medicare program he likes so much and drop its eligibility age down to zero.
So what's he waiting for?
Comments
#2
One of the great benefits of going last is that you have the opportunity to learn what works well and what doesn't work well with the systems in the other countries. Then you can come up with the best healthcare system.
#3
3 cheers for single payer health care.
But suggest it be introduced on a state by state basis.
Canada started with one province, and it slowly became
popular across the entire country.
ct
#4
trump has advocated for single payor in the past. i don't think he has the political capital to do what is right.
#5
Single payer systems are wonderful conceptually. They work best with small homogeneous societies and the SMALLER the society, the better it works. I think that what the progressives and Bernieites are missing is the huge effort to convience 300 million of us to switch to a single payer system overnight. Talk about Culture Shock! What might be more practicle is to have a transition plan. The country cannot realistically shut down all the private insurers as that would have a very negative effect on our economic model. Watch the 401k and Individual IRA's take major hits, not to mention the legal challenges of the Feds forcing private business Out of Business! Be pragmatic! Perhaps a transitional plan to move the Health Care System towards Single Payer over a period of years doing such things as moving the model from Private For Profit Insurance to Not for Profit Insurance and begin to extend Medicare from 65 to 55 to 50 to 40, etc. Let the market impact be more digestable and move forward towards the end goal of Universal Health Care. One could argue that medical school be federally funded or supported. With the cost of med school VERY high, students going into health care are not going be so eager to be MD's with the level of pay that comes with single payer model. There has to be some real deep thought and effort to accomplish this. All the yelling and screaming about Obama Care, ACA and Pharma and Health Insurance companies, and health care costs will accomplish nothing but a stand off between free market capitalism and Demo Socialism advocates. Moving 300 million + from where we are today to where the progressive's want to go is VERY EXPENSIVE, DIFFICULT, TIME CONSUMING and requires the entire country to work together. Nobody EVER discusses the challenges. Even if 200 of the 300 million of us were to rally in the streets every day 24/7, the current system we have cannot be dismantled and switched over fast, efficiently, fairly, easily, etc.
Think about it......Great Idea - Hard to Accomplish. The USA could switch to a NON FOSSIL FULE model eaiser. You are talking about 1/3 of our GDP fliping to a new and untested or rationally inposed model.
I have no personal gripe with our current system. Why do all the single payer participants want to come to our facilities in the USA when they are REALLY SICK! Because we provide the best health care in the world, yes, it is expensive. You get what you pay for. It is not fair and equal, but life is not fair and equal.
I am now on Medicare and I actually like it. The main drawback is finding providers that take MC. If one spends time and effort to search, one can find good care. However you may have to wait. Under a single payer, you have to wait longer for services that are not deemed critical. And what is critical to you may not be critical to the SYSTEM. There are a lot of pro's and con's to be looked at. In summary, I would really like to see Bernie and his minions, bring forth a reasonable, well thought out, researched transition plan that can be commuicated and debated with out emotion. Will anyone come forward with a reasonable transitional model? Current environment says NOPE - Not going to happen! It will take some real solid mass leadership and effort to gain the support of a majority of our citizens to bring the USA to a single payer model. And it will take years! My guess is 10 to 15 years.
Just food for thought!!
Healthy Thoughts to All...........
#6
Single payer systems are wonderful conceptually. They work best with small homogeneous societies and the SMALLER the society, the better it works. I think that what the progressives and Bernieites are missing is the huge effort to convience 300 million of us to switch to a single payer system overnight. Talk about Culture Shock! What might be more practicle is to have a transition plan. The country cannot realistically shut down all the private insurers as that would have a very negative effect on our economic model. Watch the 401k and Individual IRA's take major hits, not to mention the legal challenges of the Feds forcing private business Out of Business! Be pragmatic! Perhaps a transitional plan to move the Health Care System towards Single Payer over a period of years doing such things as moving the model from Private For Profit Insurance to Not for Profit Insurance and begin to extend Medicare from 65 to 55 to 50 to 40, etc. Let the market impact be more digestable and move forward towards the end goal of Universal Health Care. One could argue that medical school be federally funded or supported. With the cost of med school VERY high, students going into health care are not going be so eager to be MD's with the level of pay that comes with single payer model. There has to be some real deep thought and effort to accomplish this. All the yelling and screaming about Obama Care, ACA and Pharma and Health Insurance companies, and health care costs will accomplish nothing but a stand off between free market capitalism and Demo Socialism advocates. Moving 300 million + from where we are today to where the progressive's want to go is VERY EXPENSIVE, DIFFICULT, TIME CONSUMING and requires the entire country to work together. Nobody EVER discusses the challenges. Even if 200 of the 300 million of us were to rally in the streets every day 24/7, the current system we have cannot be dismantled and switched over fast, efficiently, fairly, easily, etc.
Think about it......Great Idea - Hard to Accomplish. The USA could switch to a NON FOSSIL FULE model eaiser. You are talking about 1/3 of our GDP fliping to a new and untested or rationally inposed model.
I have no personal gripe with our current system. Why do all the single payer participants want to come to our facilities in the USA when they are REALLY SICK! Because we provide the best health care in the world, yes, it is expensive. You get what you pay for. It is not fair and equal, but life is not fair and equal.
I am now on Medicare and I actually like it. The main drawback is finding providers that take MC. If one spends time and effort to search, one can find good care. However you may have to wait. Under a single payer, you have to wait longer for services that are not deemed critical. And what is critical to you may not be critical to the SYSTEM. There are a lot of pro's and con's to be looked at. In summary, I would really like to see Bernie and his minions, bring forth a reasonable, well thought out, researched transition plan that can be commuicated and debated with out emotion. Will anyone come forward with a reasonable transitional model? Current environment says NOPE - Not going to happen! It will take some real solid mass leadership and effort to gain the support of a majority of our citizens to bring the USA to a single payer model. And it will take years! My guess is 10 to 15 years.
Just food for thought!!
Healthy Thoughts to All...........
#7
Thom, hoping you can see this here. Tennessee's rush to privatize everything has hit it's first snag. Fall Creek Falls is a beautiful park.
http://humphreyonthehill.tnjournal.net/1728-2/
#8
The fact that in 2017 the wealthiest country on the planet still doesn't have single payer is a hell of a tribute to the right-wing propaganda machine....thaaaat's Socialism!
The Dem's should be shouting out single payer loud and clear. That and raise the cap!
Speaking of right-wing propaganda...the stock market has been a massive fascist propaganda tool since November. It hasn't been this overvalued since 1929...and most of us know the rest of the story.
United States Corporate "effective" tax rates are already among the lowest rates paid in the world and consumer debt has never been higher. Right-wing spin points to the rally being tied to Trump's promise to cut corp tax rates. There's a little problem with this, how do you cut a zero percent effective tax rate for Exxon and many others like them.???? It's a big lie.
All you hard working citizens with 401K's...get out now....I'm serious. You won't be able to move your money fast enough if you wait for the first so called correction. Congress won't be able to fix it this time...the Tea Party will block a bailout. To make matters worse, Pence is very likely to be president when this crash happens. They're not going to know how to fix it.
#9
When is Alan Funt going to come into the camera shot and tell America, "YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA!!" -and it's all been a very bad joke?
#10
Good points, 2950-10K! The people who do not know how to govern are now in charge of governing. All they could do before was to obstruct. Bob Dole said that the Republican party used to be a party of ideas. That was quite a while ago. Your advice about taking care of your money appears sound. Yeah - when this crash inevitably occurs - those guys in charge now will not know what to do at all. They will be like Herbert Hoover all over again. I pray that there will be some sane and decent minds among them who will rise up.
#11
Medicare for all. So simple! Is that too simple for Americans to get? Of course, insurance companies get it...that's why they don't want it...no money in it. What the money barons want is not what citizens want. We want health care. They don't want us to. No money in it. Simple. We lived in Canada for three years and participated in the Alberta Health Care Plan (part of the Canada system). We paid no premiums for insurance. But, we paid taxes in place of premiums...and those taxes did not hurt us whatsoever. In fact, when we needed insurance, no poblem. Our first baby was born for a $5 (CND) hospital registration fee and her mother stayed in the hospital for 6 days...just to make sure all was well for both. Then I had acute appendicitis. I was rushed 90 miles to a hospital and operated on that very night. My wallet did not hurt like my body did! Medicare for all works! Americans must understand that Medicare for All works. Our Canadian friends know that...and would never, ever give it up. Listen to them! My12 Canadian cousins would ask you to listen to them! They will tell how wonderful it is never to worry about going bankrupt or a house taken away because of medical bills. In fact, their preventive health care, acute, and long term care enables them to contribute to a better economy for them and their fellow citizens. They like it for the neighbors to have care. Is that not good? Everyone gains. America! Do it!...Medicare for All!
#12
Actually, a Medicare-for-all system with 300 million members would work far better than the current system. Currently, Medicare takes care of aged, ailing individuals in the main, while leaving the rest of the population to pay a double burden: financing Medicare via the FICA tax, while at the same time paying out exorbitant premiums for private insurance, with its steep overhead, unchecked price increases, burgeoning copays, vicious exclusion policies, and death panels. The percentage of healthy individuals in the 300-million deep insurance pool would be far higher, which would mean lower premiums overall, not to mention a collective sigh of relief from the removal of the number-one source of anxiety in daily life: getting sick, losing your job, and then losing your insurance, so that you are bankrupted and die in the gutter. That's healthcare in America. Obamacare is, if you'll excuse the expression, a bandaid on this hopelessly diseased system, which isn't surprising, given that it was originally a Republican plan intended as a massive giveaway to the insurance "industry" (actually a racket more than an industry).
#13
All Congress would have to do is approve a Bill that resets Medicare to 0 for all new Members. It would cover pregnancies from day 1, and would work exactly the way Senior coverage does. Participants would still have to find a supplemental for Prescriptions and other care, the way we Seniors do, but with so many millions of new people in the program, even with the built-in percentage of shrinkage for fraud, it would cover everyone who needs insurance, and the supplemental plans would have healthy people along with us older and less well folks. But the Republicans DON'T WANT to cover even us seniors, let alone make it simple for everyone else. We'd still need to have the right for Medicare to negotiate a lower cost of prescriptions, and they'd need to cover transplant maintenance druga for far longer than just three years after a transplant, but it's all possible, if they'd just push their noses back into place and buckle down and do some work for a change.
#14
Everyone makes really good points, all of which succinctly deconstruct any argument against common-sense solutions and ethical imperatives.
Flyguy, although I strongly disagree with his conclusions, has also contributed an important element to the larger debate by offering a sincere concern for the difficulties of implementing the elegance and simplicity of a Medicare-for-all plan in view of our hopelessly complex and polarized political climate.
Straw-man arguments and transparent deflections, calling for procrastination and slow transition away from a spectacular example of unbridled capitalism utterly failing, offer valuable insight into the inherent stumbling blocks of a deep-seated, intransigent ideology that clouds good judgment and correct action.
What are the proper roles of capitalism and socialism in a functioning society that works for all the people? In which sectors does capitalism work best, where does it not, and when does it require regulation? Where does socialism, without a profit motive, make the most sense and become the most moral choice? Or, in our Founders' words, what is the appropriate balance between free enterprise and the commons?
When the path is clear, why wait? Great movements of history, capturing the explosive energy of the people, happen surprisingly fast.
#15
TOTALLY AGREE! Just found this blog and realize how much I like it! Thanks!
#16
I am definitely NOT for the Canadian healthcare system...have you talked to Canadian residents? Yikes...
#17
United States Corporate "effective" tax rates are already among the lowest rates paid in the world and consumer debt has never been higher. Right-wing spin points to the rally being tied to Trump's promise to cut corp tax rates. (Rust Law)There's a little problem with this, how do you cut a zero percent effective tax rate for Exxon and many others like them.???? It's a big lie.
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Medicare for all is exactly what Bernie called for last night in his clear-minded response to the big lies and half-truths that Trump the Faker presented to Congress, for which all the Republican fascists stood and cheered:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZusiauFUZA