Posted on 02/26/2018 8:06:45 AM PST by SeekAndFind
One of the most glaring signs that the Democratic Party has shifted even farther leftward since the 2016 election is in the way most Democratic candidates are embracing Senator Bernie Sanders's single-payer health care plan, which he calls "Medicare for All."
As a candidate pushing this idea in 2016, Sanders was criticized by the Democratic Party establishment for proposing universal health care, telling voters it was politically unrealistic and a non-starter. Hillary Clinton and congressional Democrats were proposing minor tweaks to Obamacare rather than overhauling the entire health care system.
But the hard lurch to the left by Democrats, which has seen dozens of Sanders-boosters now running for office, has made the "Medicare for All" plan more acceptable to a majority of Democrats. In fact, most of the major candidates being mentioned in 2020 have come out in favor of it.
Democrats acknowledge the embrace of single-payer is part of a broader leftward shift for their party. But they say the experience of trying to make private markets work in ObamaCare – a system that Republicans have opposed at every turn – has changed their perspective on the likelihood of achieving universal coverage.
"I think Bernie Sanders has definitely laid out a vision and created a movement toward Medicare for all, and no doubt that has been a big factor," said Topher Spiro, vice president for health policy at CAP.
Part of the need for the next step, he said, is "it's become clear we're not going to get any cooperation from Republicans in terms of making the current system work optimally, and there's a lot of frustration there."
The Medicare Extra plan is a way to take the "final step" to universal coverage after ObamaCare,
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
For them to bring this up and suggest this...means the whole Affordable Health Act must have reached a failure stage even in their minds.
There’s a winning issue for them! :-)
last election cycle the CBO came out with a study on Sanders policies and said that the whole package he was promoting would have cost around 32 or 33 trillion dollars. That’s completely Unaffordable. Goodbye Bernie...
I think the plan was it always supposed to fail...paving the way to single-payer.
RE: Theres a winning issue for them! :-)
I’m not sure if you are saying the above in jest, but living near NYC, I can tell you that their proposal has MASS APPEAL in this state.
The plan includes drastic cuts in payments to doctors and hospitals. That is the only way such a plan could be implemented without raising taxes through the roof.
If we had single-payer for all medical expenses at the current rates, the taxes required would be 40% of all salaries.
The Leftist barbarians have stormed the Democrat Party gates. Hillary could not hold the fortress. The party is firmly in the hands of the Radical Left now.
Obamacare on steroids. I hope they run on it.
There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
Try yours truly: I’m destitute in exchange for getting comprehensive government care.
The government will treat the rest of the population no differently under Medicare Plus.
Nothing is in life is free.
How much further can these idiots "lurch to the left" before they fall off the planet?
What next - social security for all?
Its free.
But they don’t tell you have to forfeit your income to the government in exchange for all this free care.
If life was free, we would all be for it. But in reality it comes with trade-offs none of us like.
Democrats don’t care. The rest of us should care.
The only reason Medicare is sustainable is that there are 3 people paying into the system for every one drawing benefits. If you expand Medicare to all then it will be the reversethree people drawing benefits for every one paying in. So that means youll need to increase the Medicare payroll tax to 9 times its current rate. Currently its 2.9%. That would make it 26.1%. On top of the other taxes you already pay.
Kinda odd since Medicare is not “free”.
The first thing that happens when you adopt government-funded medical care is that the government limits Malpractice awards since they have to pay them.
Its funded by taxes and user premiums.
Its a health care insurance plan for the elderly.
Democrats see the political advantage in allowing every one else to sign up for it.
Fortunately, they haven’t yet figured out to pay for it.
And the quicker that this country heads towards economic collapse.......
Single payer was always the goal.
The unAffordable Care Act was a means to that end.
Destroy the insurance market.
The collapse will reach far beyond the economy.
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