I have a question

[sweetpotato]

How different would the "bureaucracy" be if the US were switched to single payer health insurance?

Seems to me that there is an awful lot of bureaucracy and red tape in the for-profit insurance companies.

Is there something I am missing?

[unpossibles]

1. I agree 100%

The red tape and bureaucracy are a HUGE part of the cost of our insurance - they make more money if they spend time/money finding ways of denying us coverage. Hell, they deny coverage and make us fight to prove we should be covered - I've seen it personally.

I've been trying to present the idea of Universal Health Care to some independents and economic righties I know as one they should back as conservatives because it will lower cost. Yeah, I know it's spinning a bit, but.... there's some truth there too. People have been lead to mistakenly believe that privatizing is inherently more efficient and better, which is hardly true at all. I also blame a lingering cold-war McCarthyist fear/attitude about anything remotely resembling socialism.

[Beer Snob-50]

2. conservatives would not back it because it means goverment intervention

even if it will reduce the cost. remember that most governemtn programs are inheriently evil.

[madmom]

5. when the word "socialism" rears it's "ugly" head I tell them that unless they are

bringing home their entire pay check no taxes taken out, they are living with socialism. Their taxes pay for police protection, fire protection, and the HEALTHCARE of the governing elite. So why can't it pay for ours? They then usually stutter and bumble something and change the subject.

[unpossibles]

6. yeah, but some of them have come back with the idea that no one should pay taxes

I've even heard some real numbnuts saying that police and fire should be private. I guess for some people, going back to the 19th Century is not enough; they miss Feudalism.

[DCKit]

3. From what I remember, Medicare spends about $0.12/dollar on admin....

While the private corporations spend about $0.45.

At those rates, we could afford single payer for everyone with the money currently being spent on premiums.

Anyone have the REAL numbers, please feel free to correct me.

[NC_Nurse]

4. It would be one bureacracy instead of many smaller

bureacracies. That would lower costs because there would be ONE type of form, ONE set of regulations,
etc. It would still not be perfect, but the way things are now is a total clusterf*ck.