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Joe BidenCongratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 10:46 PM Sep 2019

Speaker Pelosi-There's no need to reinvent health care -- just improve Obamacare

I agree with Speaker Pelosi https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/17/nancy-pelosi-no-need-to-reinvent-health-care-improve-obamacare.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

Democrats should focus on making improvements to Obamacare instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with “Medicare for All,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday.

“God bless” 2020 Democratic presidential candidates putting forth Medicare for All proposals, Pelosi said in an interview with “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer. “But know what that entails.”

Pelosi’s thoughts on how to improve the nation’s health-care laws appear to align with those of former Vice President Joe Biden, who in his 2020 presidential bid is calling for building on provisions of Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act.

“I believe the path to ‘health care for all’ is a path following the lead of the Affordable Care Act,” Pelosi told Cramer. “Let’s use our energy to have health care for all Americans, and that involves over 150 million families that have it through the private sector.”
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
61 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Speaker Pelosi-There's no need to reinvent health care -- just improve Obamacare (Original Post) Gothmog Sep 2019 OP
Expanding the already-existing Medicare isn't reinventing the wheel. area51 Sep 2019 #1
Considerable difference between MFA and a Public Option. PNHP represents 2% of physicians. Hoyt Sep 2019 #2
Always thought the public option was an excellent idea. "Try before you buy." n/t Beartracks Sep 2019 #6
You can't expand the existing medicare system for all...it will be a new system and damned expensive Demsrule86 Sep 2019 #13
You wouldn't want Medicare expanded. It's very inadequate. Hortensis Oct 2019 #19
My Medicare coverage is great Bradshaw3 Oct 2019 #29
That "supplemental" you have to purchase out of pocket Hortensis Oct 2019 #32
What we have now is a scam Bradshaw3 Oct 2019 #33
It wouldn't be expanded, it'd completely new with old name on it. Hortensis Oct 2019 #35
Wrong. The system is in place Bradshaw3 Oct 2019 #36
MfA would be profit-based medicine, B3. I suspect Sanders Hortensis Oct 2019 #38
ZIIIINNG!!! Pelosi is doing great on impeachment, but she has this one wrong!! InAbLuEsTaTe Oct 2019 #28
Thank you, Nancy Pelosi! Cha Sep 2019 #3
There's so much that's wrong about this Maven Sep 2019 #4
Relative to PO I don't see how MFA is a good idea, MFA would be starting over completely uponit7771 Sep 2019 #9
+1 Joe941 Oct 2019 #24
just do SOMETHING dweller Sep 2019 #5
Nobody willingly gives up the football Nasruddin Sep 2019 #7
K&R betsuni Sep 2019 #8
KICK! Cha Sep 2019 #10
Post removed Post removed Sep 2019 #11
Speaker Pelosi -- always rational and astute. nt BlueMississippi Sep 2019 #12
Pelosi Wants Focus on Obamacare Gothmog Sep 2019 #14
Nancy backs Joe's position Gothmog Sep 2019 #15
NBC/WSJ poll shows Biden's healthcare stance (optional Medicare buy-in) much more popular Gothmog Sep 2019 #16
Obamacare Has Made People Healthier Gothmog Oct 2019 #17
Speaker is absolutely right. It took a tremendous effort to get to Obamacare. We should do as she & onetexan Oct 2019 #22
:) Pelosi's biased. She is, above all the others involved, THE person Hortensis Oct 2019 #18
KICK! Cha Oct 2019 #20
Oh Nancy. We can do better and provide coverage and healthcare to more people. aikoaiko Oct 2019 #21
Billionaire health execs agree. Voltaire2 Oct 2019 #23
K&R Tarheel_Dem Oct 2019 #25
I'm with Nancy on this. calguy Oct 2019 #26
You are so right, Nancy. It's what the people want. emmaverybo Oct 2019 #27
"Improving" the ACA would improve the insurers bottom line Bradshaw3 Oct 2019 #30
Why Elizabeth Warren won't talk about the cost of 'Medicare for All' Gothmog Oct 2019 #42
Mahalo, Goth! Cha Nov 2019 #50
Joe and Pelosi for the win. oasis Oct 2019 #31
30% of US Health Care Expenditures Are Administrative DrFunkenstein Oct 2019 #34
Incrementalism again. We've done 40 years of it. Enough! Doremus Oct 2019 #37
Yeah, and President Obama finally got somewhere.. Cha Oct 2019 #46
One success in 40 years isn't a record I'm proud of. Are you? Doremus Nov 2019 #48
We're very proud of ACA.. the foundation Cha Nov 2019 #49
73% of people favor [the] public option that would keep private insurance in place Gothmog Oct 2019 #39
K&R Scurrilous Oct 2019 #40
Support for a public option has been increasing, and for Medicare-for-All has been decreasing Gothmog Oct 2019 #41
Choices for Financing Medicare for All: A Preliminary Analysis Gothmog Oct 2019 #43
A good rule of thumb: Don't get to Pelosi's left Gothmog Oct 2019 #44
Nancy knows how to WIN.. she handled it Well.. Cha Oct 2019 #45
Joe Biden's health care plan will be ready to go the day he's sworn into office Gothmog Oct 2019 #47
She is right. And you are selling her short if you think it's political. Chemisse Nov 2019 #51
yeah. no. *health care* will still be beholden to the all mighty dollar. that is not sustainable. Kurt V. Nov 2019 #52
Pelosi: 'I'm not a big fan of Medicare for All' Gothmog Nov 2019 #53
From Harry Reid Gothmog Nov 2019 #54
Bullshit. Act_of_Reparation Nov 2019 #55
A good rule of thumb: Don't get to Pelosi's left Gothmog Nov 2019 #56
I assume there is some sort of point you're trying to make with this. Act_of_Reparation Nov 2019 #57
According to this poll, MFA is a bad idea Gothmog Nov 2019 #58
Yes. Just finish and build on Obamacare as always planned. Hortensis Nov 2019 #59
When it comes to Medicare-for-all, listen to Nancy Pelosi Gothmog Nov 2019 #60
Nancy Pelosi is "not for doing away with Obamacare" and prefers to give people choices. Gothmog Dec 2019 #61
 

area51

(11,868 posts)
1. Expanding the already-existing Medicare isn't reinventing the wheel.
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 10:51 PM
Sep 2019

Starting with the ACA is closer to reinventing the wheel.

Please take a look at info from the physicians' group PNHP.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)
2. Considerable difference between MFA and a Public Option. PNHP represents 2% of physicians.
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 10:59 PM
Sep 2019

MFA might fly if 65% of voters really want it.

Don’t think they do right now, and probably won’t until a Public Option convinces them it’s a better deal.

A PO with enhanced subsidies is the “big idea” that might actually work.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Beartracks

(12,761 posts)
6. Always thought the public option was an excellent idea. "Try before you buy." n/t
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 11:24 PM
Sep 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Demsrule86

(68,355 posts)
13. You can't expand the existing medicare system for all...it will be a new system and damned expensive
Wed Sep 18, 2019, 09:12 AM
Sep 2019

not popular and very difficult to implement...public option ...regulation will lead to the same thing...Universal healthcare.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
19. You wouldn't want Medicare expanded. It's very inadequate.
Wed Oct 2, 2019, 08:50 AM
Oct 2019

What would be taken from it would be use of the current law allowing healthcare under the label "Medicare" to create a whole new system. At least you should hope it'd be a whole new system.

My husband and I not only pay taxes on our Medicare Part B benefit (because we need to use his Social Security to pay for it) but also purchase 5 additional personal policies to fill big gaps in coverage so medical expenses won't break us. It'd be 6 but my husband doesn't need medication coverage so far. These costs are onerous for us, but at our age running through our retirement savings and then someday having to sell our home to pay for medical care under Medicare would otherwise be all too possible.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Bradshaw3

(7,455 posts)
29. My Medicare coverage is great
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 04:31 PM
Oct 2019

Combined with ONE supplemental plan (not sure why someone has to buy 5 plans) they are the best healthcare coverage I've had with plenty of doctors to choose from and I am perotected from the medical debt that broke me financially in the past. Medicare and a supplemental are great for coverage and relief from worrying about financial ruin.

If most people knew how it worked they would want it expanded.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
32. That "supplemental" you have to purchase out of pocket
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 04:44 PM
Oct 2019

so you don't someday have sorted stacks of unpaid medical bills on your table costs significant money every month, though, money a whole lot of people just don't have. So, many millions of people do without, knowing that they could be one course of cancer treatment or occluded arteries away from financial devastation.

The other policies are my medication policy, and that matters when one drug alone out of several costs over $300, and our dental and eye policies -- those both only pay part, but for us every bit counts.

Universal healthcare means replacing this system and spreading costs across society to bring the blessings of modern medicine to everyone, not adopting old problems for everyone. And that's why letting the nation think that'll mostly just mean letting everyone qualify for "Medicare" is a scam. Brilliant marketing ploy, but dishonest. It wouldn't be Medicare for All, it'd be something new for all.

Something very like the ACA in fact. I could never understand why Sanders would try to destroy the ACA only to replace it with a very similar profit-based system, instead of completing and advancing what we have up and running well. But Democrats created the ACA when he insisted they were just Republicans at heart and of course he was, as usual, self-sidelined while others lead the way. I strongly wonder if the answer isn't in the assault on his belief system.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Bradshaw3

(7,455 posts)
33. What we have now is a scam
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 05:18 PM
Oct 2019

It's called healthcare but it's really one of the most profitbable businesses in this country while providing shitty coverage or no coverage at all for millions.

And, no, the "system" isn't going to be replaced, it's going to be expanded. So that is a dishonest meme happily spread by people who want to keep putting money into the pockets of those who own and run big corporations - again, some of the most profitable in this country, while millions are NOW going without and going into financial ruin.

As I said, the ACA isn't working for millions and millions more still going into great debt with it. Your slagging of Sanders doesn't really have anything to with the overall discussion. He's just one senator among many officials and everyday people who want a different "system" than what we have, one based on healthcare, not healthcare companies profits.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
35. It wouldn't be expanded, it'd completely new with old name on it.
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 05:21 PM
Oct 2019

It'd also be very similar to what the ACA would be once completed.

Starting over from scratch, with at least 7 years to fully implement, doesn't just make "MfA" a morally highly questionable political banner to power a campaign with, it's potentially dangerous because the Republicans -- who will always be with us -- would be looking for every opportunity to make us lose ground in the changeover.

Let's not forget it could not be completed in one presidential term also. If the Republicans won the presidency and one or both houses of congress in 2024, completing the rollout of MfA would fall to them...

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Bradshaw3

(7,455 posts)
36. Wrong. The system is in place
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 05:26 PM
Oct 2019

You need to do a LOT more research on the subject. What we have now is the same old system based on PROFIT, not on healthcare, and that's the problem no matter how some want to change the subject.

I find it funny that we had this discussion back in 2008 when the Democratic position was that the system was broken and needed to be fixed. Now SOME Democrats are arguing that everything is ok, just needs a tweak or two, when the facts show the opposite.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
38. MfA would be profit-based medicine, B3. I suspect Sanders
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 05:53 PM
Oct 2019

has real contempt for his own opportunistic plan because of that. It's not socialized medicine in any way, it's a campaign slogan to run on, not his dream. The VA is socialized medicine, btw, Medicare is emphatically NOT.

Might as well point out, again, that CONGRESS legislates. Although many, many very bright, very hardworking people in every pertinent discipline made the ACA reality, the one person credited with battling it through to law in its present, instead of gutted, form, against massive resistance by both Republicans and conservative and regretfully gutless Democrats, is Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She is greatly admired for that enormous accomplishment and contribution to America by those who know.

Now, look forward to 2020 and all the enormous problems a hopefully empowered Democratic administration will have to start tackling immediately, with only so much political "capital" to spend. You should be very glad they won't be expending tremendous amounts of time and capital recreating a new Obamacare-type program instead of moving forward with the ACA as one item on their critical to-do list.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

InAbLuEsTaTe

(24,110 posts)
28. ZIIIINNG!!! Pelosi is doing great on impeachment, but she has this one wrong!!
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 04:15 PM
Oct 2019

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!! or
Elizabeth & Bernie 2020!!
Either way, welcome to the revolution!!!
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Cha

(295,929 posts)
3. Thank you, Nancy Pelosi!
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 11:02 PM
Sep 2019

Thanks, Goth

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Maven

(10,533 posts)
4. There's so much that's wrong about this
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 11:05 PM
Sep 2019

Ugh

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

uponit7771

(90,225 posts)
9. Relative to PO I don't see how MFA is a good idea, MFA would be starting over completely
Wed Sep 18, 2019, 05:22 AM
Sep 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

dweller

(23,562 posts)
5. just do SOMETHING
Tue Sep 17, 2019, 11:11 PM
Sep 2019

and STOP letting our health and our care be a political football that's constantly
being threatened with cancellation, and subject to the whims of greedy insurance companies whose only concern is their bottom line ...
It's obvious Hair Twitler and the cronies he represent HAVE NO PLAN,
so move on to what works for us (the citizens) in the most efficient way
and stop jerking us around...
it's not good for our health

✌🏼

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Nasruddin

(741 posts)
7. Nobody willingly gives up the football
Wed Sep 18, 2019, 01:27 AM
Sep 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided

Response to Gothmog (Original post)

 

BlueMississippi

(776 posts)
12. Speaker Pelosi -- always rational and astute. nt
Wed Sep 18, 2019, 08:56 AM
Sep 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
14. Pelosi Wants Focus on Obamacare
Wed Sep 18, 2019, 03:49 PM
Sep 2019

I agree with Speaker Pelosi https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/17/pelosi-wants-focus-on-obamacare/

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNBC that Democrats should focus on making improvements to the Affordable Care Act instead of pushing to introduce “Medicare for All.”

Said Pelosi: “God bless 2020 Democratic presidential candidates putting forth Medicare for All proposals, but know what that entails. I believe the path to ‘health care for all’ is a path following the lead of the Affordable Care Act. Let’s use our energy to have health care for all Americans, and that involves over 150 million families that have it through the private sector.”
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
15. Nancy backs Joe's position
Thu Sep 19, 2019, 06:36 PM
Sep 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
16. NBC/WSJ poll shows Biden's healthcare stance (optional Medicare buy-in) much more popular
Sun Sep 22, 2019, 09:23 PM
Sep 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
17. Obamacare Has Made People Healthier
Wed Oct 2, 2019, 01:07 AM
Oct 2019

Getting rid of Obamacare is a bad move https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/obamacare-has-made-people-healthier/

Washington Post: “Poor people in Michigan with asthma and diabetes were admitted to the hospital less often after they joined Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. More than 25,000 Ohio smokers got help through the state’s Medicaid expansion that led them to quit. And around the country, patients with advanced kidney disease who went on dialysis were more likely to be alive a year later if they lived in a Medicaid-expansion state.”

“Such findings are part of an emerging mosaic of evidence that, nearly a decade after it became one of the most polarizing health-care laws in U.S. history, the ACA is making some Americans healthier — and less likely to die.”
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

onetexan

(12,994 posts)
22. Speaker is absolutely right. It took a tremendous effort to get to Obamacare. We should do as she &
Wed Oct 2, 2019, 01:36 PM
Oct 2019

Joe Biden said - keep Obamacare and improve it. More economical and less pain to get it done.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
18. :) Pelosi's biased. She is, above all the others involved, THE person
Wed Oct 2, 2019, 08:01 AM
Oct 2019

who brought us national healthcare after over 70 years of fierce conservative opposition. With her leading the battle in congress, they finally lost. And with her leading the battle, the ACA will become what we all need it to be.

Thank you with all my heart, Nancy.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

aikoaiko

(34,127 posts)
21. Oh Nancy. We can do better and provide coverage and healthcare to more people.
Wed Oct 2, 2019, 01:33 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Voltaire2

(12,632 posts)
23. Billionaire health execs agree.
Wed Oct 2, 2019, 09:38 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

calguy

(5,225 posts)
26. I'm with Nancy on this.
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 03:28 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

emmaverybo

(8,144 posts)
27. You are so right, Nancy. It's what the people want.
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 03:56 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Bradshaw3

(7,455 posts)
30. "Improving" the ACA would improve the insurers bottom line
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 04:35 PM
Oct 2019

For all its benefits the ACA did not work for many, many people in the middle class, and it hasn't reduced healthcare costs in many areas. What it does do is keep the profit motive front and center in our corrupt healthcare system, and that is the main problem.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
42. Why Elizabeth Warren won't talk about the cost of 'Medicare for All'
Fri Oct 25, 2019, 07:02 PM
Oct 2019



The elephant in the waiting room remains the staggering cost of this new system. There's a reason why Warren avoids the conversation about how we're going to pay for Medicare for All. In fact, anyone with a pencil and paper and third-grade math skills would quickly figure out that this proposal simply cannot work.

Depending on whom you ask, cost estimates range from $2.5 trillion to $4.7 trillion per year. It's important to keep in mind that the entire federal budget for fiscal year 2020 is $4.7 trillion (including a $1.1 trillion-dollar deficit). Basically, we would have to double the size of the government through higher taxes on every American employee and fundamentally alter the structure of the American economy.....

Medicare for All fans propose to demolish our current health care system that certainly needs streamlining, more competition between insurance companies and plans and new and better technology. Other issues that must be addressed are drug manufacturing and distribution networks and hospital consolidation.

While we desperately need reform, any realistic policy proposal would recognize that 90 percent of Americans currently have health insurance. Instead, reasonable politicians should focus on how to cover those who are uninsured or underinsured in our current system.
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Cha

(295,929 posts)
50. Mahalo, Goth!
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 06:24 PM
Nov 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

oasis

(49,152 posts)
31. Joe and Pelosi for the win.
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 04:37 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

DrFunkenstein

(8,745 posts)
34. 30% of US Health Care Expenditures Are Administrative
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 05:21 PM
Oct 2019

Out of the average of about $19,000 that U.S. workers and their employers pay for family coverage each year, $5,700 goes toward administrative costs. That's kitchen table stuff right there.

Let's see what Warren has to say earlier this year:

"I’ve signed onto Medicare for All. I’ve signed on to another one that gives an option for buying in to Medicaid. There are different ways we can get there. But the key has to be always keep the center of the bullseye in mind. And that is affordable health care for every American."

It's that sort of rigid idealism that is going to doom her candidacy. Oh, wait...Did she just say that she was open to an open to an option to buy in?

Never mind! She's gonna win this thing!


If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Doremus

(7,261 posts)
37. Incrementalism again. We've done 40 years of it. Enough!
Thu Oct 3, 2019, 05:43 PM
Oct 2019

Stop appeasing monied interests once and for all!

It's beyond time to put people above profits. Not in baby steps that may or may not pan out by the time the next president and the next president and the next president take over....

The right thing right now. Anything else is bullshit. And we're idiots if we fall for it again.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Cha

(295,929 posts)
46. Yeah, and President Obama finally got somewhere..
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 02:29 AM
Oct 2019

the first one to actually do it.. whereas the others are just talking about it.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Doremus

(7,261 posts)
48. One success in 40 years isn't a record I'm proud of. Are you?
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 02:25 PM
Nov 2019

When we take the government back next year, it will be a time to move forward, fixing what the repukes have destroyed, as usual, AND implementing bold new programs to take us and our children into the future.

Incrementalism had its run. No more. Especially if we don't need to do it.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Cha

(295,929 posts)
49. We're very proud of ACA.. the foundation
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 06:23 PM
Nov 2019

to build on. Finally President Obama got it through.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
39. 73% of people favor [the] public option that would keep private insurance in place
Mon Oct 21, 2019, 02:31 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
41. Support for a public option has been increasing, and for Medicare-for-All has been decreasing
Fri Oct 25, 2019, 04:08 PM
Oct 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
43. Choices for Financing Medicare for All: A Preliminary Analysis
Tue Oct 29, 2019, 03:12 PM
Oct 2019

This is from a non-partisan think group that is well respected http://www.crfb.org/papers/choices-financing-medicare-all-preliminary-analysis

Proposals to adopt single-payer health care in the United States have grown in popularity in recent years, as numerous lawmakers and presidential candidates have embraced Medicare for All. However, few have grappled with how to finance the new costs imposed on the federal government. By most estimates, Medicare for All would cost the federal government about $30 trillion over the next decade. How this cost is financed would have considerable distributional, economic, and policy implications.

In the coming months, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget will publish a detailed analysis describing numerous ways to finance Medicare for All and the consequences and trade-offs associated with each choice. This paper provides our preliminary estimates of the magnitude of each potential change and a brief discussion of the types of trade-offs policymakers will need to consider.

We find that Medicare for All could be financed with:

A 32 percent payroll tax
A 25 percent income surtax
A 42 percent value-added tax (VAT)
A mandatory public premium averaging $7,500 per capita – the equivalent of $12,000 per individual not otherwise on public insurance
More than doubling all individual and corporate income tax rates
An 80 percent reduction in non-health federal spending
A 108 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase in the national debt
Impossibly high taxes on high earners, corporations, and the financial sector
A combination of approaches

Each of these choices would have consequences for the distribution of income, growth in the economy, and ability to raise new revenue. Some of these consequences could be balanced against each other by adopting a combination approach that includes smaller versions of several of the options as well as additional policies.
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
44. A good rule of thumb: Don't get to Pelosi's left
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 06:39 PM
Oct 2019



She is openly dubious of the left’s top priority in 2020: the push to establish a single-payer health-care system that will replace private health insurance. It would be better for Democrats to “begin with where we have agreement,” she said. “Let’s not start with: ‘You have private insurance—forget about it.’” She wants to begin by bolstering the Affordable Care Act, adding a public competitor to private insurance, and restoring provisions in the law that Trump has weakened. “Maybe Medicare for All is a destination,” Pelosi said. “But it’s certainly not a starting point.”
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Cha

(295,929 posts)
45. Nancy knows how to WIN.. she handled it Well..
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 02:26 AM
Oct 2019

during the BLUE WAVE Midterms!

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
47. Joe Biden's health care plan will be ready to go the day he's sworn into office
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 10:23 AM
Oct 2019

Last edited Thu Oct 31, 2019, 04:15 PM - Edit history (1)


If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Chemisse

(30,793 posts)
51. She is right. And you are selling her short if you think it's political.
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 07:12 PM
Nov 2019

She is darned good at seeing how things would play out. My opinion is that the Medicare-for-All fight would be very ugly, and quite possibly cost us the presidential election, whereas the ACA idea is already pretty popular among a wide swath of Americans and can be nicely expanded once Dems are in power.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Kurt V.

(5,624 posts)
52. yeah. no. *health care* will still be beholden to the all mighty dollar. that is not sustainable.
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 07:17 PM
Nov 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
53. Pelosi: 'I'm not a big fan of Medicare for All'
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 11:34 PM
Nov 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Act_of_Reparation

(9,116 posts)
55. Bullshit.
Mon Nov 18, 2019, 05:30 PM
Nov 2019

There is a fundamental conflict of interest between the business of providing insurance and the service that business is supposed to provide.

You can't regulate that out of the equation.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
56. A good rule of thumb: Don't get to Pelosi's left
Mon Nov 18, 2019, 08:45 PM
Nov 2019



She is openly dubious of the left’s top priority in 2020: the push to establish a single-payer health-care system that will replace private health insurance. It would be better for Democrats to “begin with where we have agreement,” she said. “Let’s not start with: ‘You have private insurance—forget about it.’” She wants to begin by bolstering the Affordable Care Act, adding a public competitor to private insurance, and restoring provisions in the law that Trump has weakened. “Maybe Medicare for All is a destination,” Pelosi said. “But it’s certainly not a starting point.”
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Act_of_Reparation

(9,116 posts)
57. I assume there is some sort of point you're trying to make with this.
Tue Nov 19, 2019, 09:39 AM
Nov 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
58. According to this poll, MFA is a bad idea
Sun Nov 24, 2019, 06:00 PM
Nov 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
59. Yes. Just finish and build on Obamacare as always planned.
Mon Nov 25, 2019, 05:31 PM
Nov 2019

So fast and comparatively easy. A minimum 7-year wait to implement a new, unwritten and unproven system over 2 presidential terms, possibly 3, and possibly over as many as 6 changes in congressional power is scary. All the while Republicans fighting to destroy it.

Also why on earth would we endorse anything whose supporters would refuse any improvements to the ACA over those years for political reasons. As Sanders has already been doing: this year alone he refused to support bills that would lower ACA premiums and improve coverages, and make other improvements, because they'd weaken support for his plan to destroy it.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
60. When it comes to Medicare-for-all, listen to Nancy Pelosi
Sat Nov 30, 2019, 08:30 PM
Nov 2019



When it comes to Democrats’ obsession with Medicare-for-all, listen to Nancy Pelosi. The House speaker put it more politely, but on the very day that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled her plan to remake the U.S. health-care system for the lowball price of $20.5 trillion, Pelosi made it clear that she thought this was political insanity.

“I’m not a big fan of Medicare-for-all,” Pelosi told Bloomberg TV on Friday. She cited the cost. She noted the “comfort level that some people have with their current private insurance.” And she cautioned, “Remember November.” Pushing Medicare-for-all “would increase the vote in my own district,” the California Democrat said, “but that’s not what we need to do in order to win the electoral college.”

Indeed. For years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, Democrats paid a steep, and unfair, political price for enacting the law. Then the electoral calculus flipped. Health care became a political winner for Democrats, and the Trump administration offered the party a gift with its continuing crusade against the ACA.....

A smart party would seize this opening and go on the offensive against the Republican effort to take popular coverage away from millions. Instead, the Democratic presidential field is immersed in a destructive internecine battle over the wisdom of a massive entitlement expansion. Imagine President Trump hammering Democratic nominee Warren in a general-election campaign. He would accuse her of plotting to take away your private insurance, dangerously hiking federal spending and, citing Warren’s primary rivals, ultimately socking the middle class with a tax increase when she can’t raise enough otherwise.
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
61. Nancy Pelosi is "not for doing away with Obamacare" and prefers to give people choices.
Fri Dec 6, 2019, 12:09 PM
Dec 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
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