Does anyone know what the costs to the government and taxpayers will be if we do not do anything?

[TeamJordan23]

A GOP talking point is that its going to be 1 Trillion in new government spending for a new health care plan. Does anyone know the costs to the government/tax payers if we do not do anything?

[Skink]

1. Without a public option it is moot anyway.

The only problem is spiraling health care costs. Obama can only get so much stimulus money and health care costs could be his Achilles.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. This might help some

http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml

[MadMaddie]

3. If Corporate insurance is the only thing left standing

then you can count the loss of lives as the actual cost of doing nothing.

The US already has a high infant mortality rate
Depending on the segment of the population we have people dying every day of common and treatable maladys...

The cost is death!

[Skink]

4. So Swine Flu is on the table.

[MadMaddie]

5. Absolutely! Along with

breast cancer or colon cancer that goes untreated because someone doesn't have insurance and only goes to the emergency room when it's too late.

Simple infections that go untreated and turn fatal.

You name it, it is on the table.

[lxlxlxl]

6. great question...

putting a price on a failed social security system isnt something ive seen...reply back if you find anything.

and thats just a smart way of asking questions too...economics is all about data, and the GOP get's away with a lot of b.s.

take global warming .... you cannot possibly put a price on the type of environmental catastrophes/displacements/droughts/famines but they complain about a $10 raise in a year in electricity bills

[DBoon]

7. do you measure cost in dollars or in deaths?

it all depends on your priorities

[MadMaddie]

9. That's easy if it's a Repug you are asking then it's $$

lives are expendable to them.

[area51]

8. Costs will continue to go up w/o transitioning to a single-payer form of healthcare delivery/payment

There's nothing that will contain costs otherwise. And as other posters have mentioned, there's always the 100,000 deaths per year due to lack of healthcare in costs. Or the costs for people w/o access to regular healthcare going to the ER, for the most expensive treatment, thus overburdening ER personnel when actual emergencies come in (and of course, the ER bills will come in later). And that's not counting the continuing medical bankruptcies of American citizens.

Physicians for a National Health Plan have information on single-payer.