Opinion; Bernie Sanders has some explaining to do

[leftcoastmountains]

-snip-
But giving explanatory speeches will only take Sanders so far. What he needs to do now is describe how his ambitious, big-government proposals would work, whether you choose to call them progressive, socialist or anything else. He hasn't done much of that, even though he's been running for six months.

Take his biggest, boldest idea: Medicare for all. Sanders says he wants everyone enrolled in one big government-run health insurance system. No more private insurance plans, no more Obamacare, no more Medicaid. At least, that's what I think he means; he hasn't provided any details.

"I wish I had more answers for you," his policy director, Warren Gunnels, told me this week. "He hasn't decided on the exact form it should take — other than being universal, single-payer, Medicare for all."

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1021-mcmanus-sanders-socialism-20151021-column.html

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. single payer is better than 'medicare for all'.

I want less paperwork to fill out, not to spend hours pouring over websites trying to figure out 'the best plan for me', when I have no clue how my life might change at any given point. Just let me make appointments or do walk-ins, provide my name and social security number, sign a form saying I had X, Y, and Z done, and leave.

[Kalidurga]

2. It's funny the only candidate that has some explaining to do is Bernie.

I don't mind though. Bernie has given more details on his platform than any candidate I have ever seen and he does it in a way that connects with people.

[jfern]

6. Yup, and he's the only candidate whose supporters have ever been a problem

Stromfront supporting Trump? That's perfectly fine.

[leftcoastmountains]

12. My thought exactly.

[DeeDeeNY]

21. But as many details as he gives,

it is never enough.

[Kalidurga]

28. Yes,

like being a civil rights leader before it was cool. Not enough, Bernie.

[Half-Century Man]

3. A link

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/medicare-for-all-09-30-2014

Sorry had to post fast to deal with the house.
I am remembering a video with the plan to enroll people in blocks of age (60-65, 50-59, 40-49, etc) each segment taking a years to do. I think it was Bernie, but it might have been a proposal being presented to him. I haven't tracked down the link yet.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Here's how Medicare for All works

You take Medicare and expand it to cover everyone in the US.

I'm not sure what substantial things are unclear about that.

[TBF]

5. Thank you.

We are back to my favorite meme. And they muddy the water to make it seem deep (complicated) because THEY.DON'T.WANT.TO.PAY.FOR.IT. It's that simple. They want their vacation homes in the mountains & at the shores, their private jets, their car elevators, etc. They do not care about you or me. They care about themselves. No one said it better than Nietzsche - with the exception, possibly, of George Carlin.

[pipoman]

8. And day 3 when at least 25% of hospitals close because

They cannot survive on 100% medicare reimbursement. Reality. It would cut hospital revenue by at least 20%. Medicare rides on the back of private insurance and self pay. If it weren't for the higher revenue for private payers, medicare reimbursement rates would have to go up...or health care delivery and availability would change dramatically.

[Vincardog]

9. Then those hospitals can be replaced by not for profit maybe faith based organizations. We don't

Last edited Thu Oct 22, 2015, 02:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Need everything to be about making a profit.

[pipoman]

15. Those are the ones which will close first

Exactly the hospital I am talking about. These are nonprofit regional medical centers from coast to coast who would be the facilities that cannot survive a 20%+ revenue cut.

The hard questions are do doctors, nurses, medicare billers, physical therapist, etc. make more than they should or about what they're worth?

When are pharmaceutical and medical product manufacturerers going to be under similar scrutiny for pricing practices by CMS?

[artislife]

22. And why the concern?

Corporate America has driven out the small business and then sent the jobs overseas.

I worked in the back offices of healthcare. They pay a lot of people to deal with billing the patient and then dealing with the insurance company. The amount of time chasing down payments and filling out endless forms to an entity that makes its own rules is stifling.
Cut out the insurance game making and you will save yourself a lot of admin costs.

[pipoman]

23. Because I will not die for lack of a manufacturer

Medicare doesn't eliminate vast paperwork or rules....they are worst of all regarding billing costs. They also don't remove insurance filings....for every medicare billing there is a private insurance billing too. My wife runs a hospital billing department....there are no easy answers..

[Vincardog]

24. Are you expressing your concern for the not for profit health care facilities that have virtually

All been bought up by for profit corporations since the Ray Gun revolution? If so, your concern is only about 30 years too late.

If your point is that all aspects of healthcare need reevaluated with
an eye to serving the public good rather than greedy self interest;
I agree

[pipoman]

26. "Virtually"? No, the only not for profit facilities purchased by for profit orgs

Are those which were very successful as not for profits. For profit orgs are NOT buying facilities that are not for profit because nobody could possibly profit from them because of geography.

[Vincardog]

27. Great claim prove it.

[pipoman]

29. Prove what?

[pipoman]

30. Since you can't answer I'll guess

That you want me to prove this statement false:

"All been bought up by for profit corporations since the Ray Gun revolution"

False

Total Number of All U.S. Registered * Hospitals. 5,686

Number of Nongovernment Not-for-Profit Community Hospitals. 2904

http://www.aha.org/research/rc/stat-studies/fast-facts.shtml


So 51% of all hospitals in the US are non government owned, not for profit hospitals.

Number of Investor-Owned (For-Profit) Community Hospitals. 1,060

So 19% of all US hospitals are fot profit.

Care to guess which of the above hospitals are profitable and which aren't? Yeah, that's what I thought...

Pretty obvious you haven't a clue what you're talking about, eh?

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Sure they can stay open

All hospitals will be in the same boat. They'll cut expenses, and life will go on.

Doctors, admins, and everyone else in the medical world gets paid substantially more than people with similar jobs get paid in other industries. That's why our health care is unbelievably expensive compared to any other country.

Right now, if one hospital or insurer starts paying docs less they go to another hospital or insurer. But ife everyone's in the same boat, surgeons will just have to live with only earning 10x what an average worler makes; there's nowhere better to go.

[mhatrw]

14. It's not just about medical worker wages.

It's even more about adminstrator wages and even more about hospital, drug, and medical equipment corporation profiteering.

[pipoman]

16. yep

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. Check out France's Healthcare system and what they're doctors make. They make house calls too!

They're happy with their system.

[pipoman]

17. I didn't say that there is no way to have a single payer system

It isn't throwing everyone medicare as it is today.

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. And Medicare is a PHENOMENAL program.

When you spend weeks in the hospital and come out pretty much debt free (with supplemental ins.), it's a phenomenal programs.

It would be SO easy to add everyone to the already-in-place program. Easier than the ACA was to set up and implement.

[pipoman]

18. Oh it's wonderful unless you have to try to get paid for services

Your level of service will almost immediately decline if everyone was put on medicare.

There isn't a single easy thing about it.....

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. I know their reimbursement is sloow and a PITA and

service providers aren't paid as much as they want to be paid., but most of the time their charges are ridiculous and overpriced. I've been on that end of it too. That's why I believe the formula for reimbursement will be tweaked some, but here's the thing - healthcare for human beings should not be profit driven. That's just sick. A person's life depends on whether or not a doctor or hospital makes enough profit? Or if that person can pay for treatment? Or whether the freakin' HMO blesses you and approves coverage? That's just UNETHICAL....from a HUMAN standpoint.

Doctors may not make their millions as fast as before and hospitals won't make money. That's not what hospitals should be doing anyway.

[pipoman]

25. What they should be doing?

Facility costs are incredibly high. Their charges being over priced is usually affected by their purchase rates, their staffing costs, equipment costs, ancillary services ALL being ridiculously over priced. It is the bottom line that makes medicare for all a nogo.

[jwirr]

7. Candidates seldom have complete bills written regarding

issue they suggestions. But I know that the people who have been working for single payer for decades have already worked a lot of it out. That is what the cabinet is for to flesh out the plans that they want passed. In fact that is supposed to be the job of the Senate. And the president often works with them.

Those of us who know how Medicaid works wonder about the things that Medicare does not pay for such as nursing home care. Medicaid pays for it all.

But the one thing that makes the single payer plan better than any other plans is that the plan kicks out the for profit insurance companies and a lot of the paper work that providers are so sick of.

However with a R House I am sure they would do everything in their power to keep it in the for profit hands.

[eridani]

19. As Kucinich said in 2004 "We are ALREADY paying for universal health care--

--we just aren't GETTING it."

[Thespian2]

31. What exactly needs explaining?

We have a system that is currently working...all government needs to do is...fire the insurance companies, give EVERYONE Medicare...really quite simple...then, of course, you could spend your time watching health care improve and the costs go down...

When I go to my doctor, hospital, or other health care, the nurse puts my health card into a machine. I have finished all paperwork...When I go to the pharmacy, (since I am a senior) almost all my prescription drugs cost $15.50 for a month's supply of pills...end of spending money...

For my late wife's cancer treatment, I spent a total of $400 for one year...on a highly expensive cancer drug which my health care paid 2/3 of the cost (yes, the cancer drug was over $1200.) And, by the way, to keep my wife on my North Carolina State health plan, I would have had to pay over $800 per month for supplemental coverage...after I had paid for Medicare Part B...

Simple conclusion: any health plan that depends on insurance coverage is NOT a health plan...it is the system designed for insurance companies by insurance companies to continue vacuuming up cash from people and the government...