Posted on 01/15/2017 5:52:27 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Obama’s signature health-care law with the goal of “insurance for everybody,” while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid.
Trump declined to reveal specifics in the telephone interview late Saturday with The Washington Post, but any proposals from the incoming president would almost certainly dominate the Republican effort to overhaul federal health policy as he prepares to work with his party’s congressional majorities.
Trump’s plan is likely to face questions from the right, following years of GOP opposition to further expansion of government involvement in the health-care system, and from those on the left, who see his ideas as disruptive to changes brought by the Affordable Care Act that have extended coverage to tens of millions of Americans.
In addition to his replacement plan for the ACA, also known as Obamacare, Trump said he will target pharmaceutical companies over drug prices and demand that they negotiate directly with Medicaid and Medicare.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yes, God forbid anyone makes a profit on their products.
Tax CREDITS. And subsidies. But voice for patients.
Sounds like free or subsidized to me.
People who truly are indigent and can not pay for health insurance already qualify for Medicaid so that is a done deal.
A big part of the problem is people making $80,000 a year who have subsidized health care, and people who do not pay into the system at all, but get into accidents and run up unlimited and astronomical multi million dollar government mandated hospital bills.
The big problem is not people who truly can't afford too pay for health insurance, it's those who can but don't - and then run up huge bills and never pay.
The primary problem with our health care system is very simple, to many users (often very expensive users who un up astronomical bills) and too few payers.
Private charity better serves the pre existing.
Govt replaced charity is a disaster.
While there have been one or two highly publicized stories about drug pricing, the cost of drugs comprises roughly 10% of overall health care costs. Can pricing be improved? Perhaps, but don't kill R&D in the process.
If Trump could figure out a way to make other countries pay a more fair share, I'd be all for it. The US Supreme subsidizes far too much of the world's medicines.
He said during campaigning that he wasn’t going to let people die in the streets if they couldn’t afford care. He said it many times, so this doesn’t surprise me. The only thing that disappoints me is that he spoke to Washington Post.
Or don't you LIKE Winning? 😀
If it wasn't for Trump, we'd be preparing to take The Felon Queen, Hillary, like a dry rhino horn covered in sandpaper, straight up the patoot.
So I'm not going to wring my hands and wail, considering that he's done and is doing that which I asked from him - destroying the Media DeathStar.
Everything else is gravy.
They will have insurance for the ER!!! That’s it!! I don’t want to pay for anybody’s insurance but MINE!!~!
I don’t think so, but it does it to hospitals.
Your post is the first time I have ever seen mention of Trump addressing single payer favorably. (I take that back. There was this group of supporters for another guy who repeated that non-stop for months even though you would link them to his comments stating otherwise.)
He has been advocating for increased competition in the private sector since he announced his candidacy.
That’s what his comments about unleashing insurance companies to be able top compete nation-wide were all about.
“That’s not what he said.”
That’s not what the Washington Compost said he said, but they are constant liars.
You guys are so challenged on this topic.
He has advocated unleashing the insurance companies to compete across this nation instead of being limited to a single state. That is not single payer.
As for those who are not able to afford health insurance payments, ask yourself who has covered them in the past?
The answer is, the federal government. Through Medicare those who qualify are able to get the government to cover their medical needs.
That sounds bad on the face of it, but that is what we have been doing since the 1970s.
I’m hoping he has come up with a plan that will be able to provide these people coverage at a reduced rate. If so, it will be better than what we have been doing for at least 35 years.
Folks who are able to afford health care premiums will have many more policies to choose from. The policies will also be a lot more diverse.
We need to wait and see what the plan is.
There will be plenty of time to complain then.
Please explain.
Sometimes things happen abruptly to very healthy people that do not include getting shot.
I see most posters haven’t read what Trump said during the interview about single payer.
Posting in ignorance, a great tradition.
If the federal government steps in and pays for a $20,000 deductible policy for everyone needing Medicare, what would the benefit be?
The benefit would be that the federal government that used to be tasked with paying every time of care for Medicare patients, would have it’s costs capped at $20,000.
There are variations of this that could be studied and put into action.
Perhaps the government could get insurers to band together for Medicare and the federal government could pay them a set fee each year to cover everyone.
Figures are out there to tell what the government has been spending for Medicare. If it can but it’s cost by 10-30%, that would be a great deal.
There are a number of ways to cut costs for the uninsured. Perhaps Trump will announce one or more.
We need to wait and see.
Exactly, that is all I’ve heard Trump discuss is competition in the market. That is quite the opposite of single payer.
I don’t believe for a minute he is using a single payer system.
I also believe there will be bidding on pharmaceuticals by more than Medicare & Medicaid.
I agree completely. And as someone pointed out recently, that’s why we have insurance. If I develop an abrupt illness I will be covered. But insurance premiums need to be commensurate with the risk. A preexisting condition for example, adds risk. Some lifestyles add risk. The broader the insurance market the better it will cover those risks in various cost effective ways.
So cancer patients should have catastrophic only? Seriously?
Many people don’t have 5k to spend till they meet their deductible. Many people, including myself has has paid for health insurance for 40 years before needing it for the big C. I paid in. I am using it now without regret.
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