By John Ballard
This weekend's must read. H/T Maggie Mahar.
Short, solid and easy to understand.
I'm tempted to make it into a pamphlet and pass it out on the sidewalk.
Your life without healthcare reform - Part One
...But when something can no longer continue, it won't. When enough Americans lose their coverage, when cost-shifting gets to the point where those left with insurance are paying thousands in premiums to cover those without, when local taxes to pay for teachers' and police benefits get so high that folks are losing their houses, when Medicare finally goes insolvent, when hospitals are collapsing due to the cost of indigent care, when big pharma and device companies are no longer making the gazillions they so richly deserve, then, and only then, will the screaming hordes at Town Hall meetings decide that any health care coverage is better than none.What happens then?
Well, we may end up with single payer, or Medicare for All, or some version of the German or Swiss or French systems. The false patriots championing freedom and the American tradition of independence and all that other hooey will find themselves drowned out by the moms and dads desperate for insurance to cover their kids and parents.
While the opponents of reform may well win this battle, in the long run they will lose the war. Their best chance (which some seem to have recognized, albeit half-heartedly) is to engage now, get the best deal they can, and retool their business models to prosper without relying primarily on risk selection and underwriting to avoid unhealthy members.
If that's Part One, I'm not sure I want to see Part Two.
Just what I've been saying all along. The system may be broken but it might not be broken enough yet. It will be soon and so no health care bill now is probably a good thing. Anything that might pass now will fail to fix the problems and will end up being a negative for the Democrats. In a couple of years or so Medicare for all will look pretty good.
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