Will SOMEBODY get honest about Universal Healthcare?

[Thunderbeast]

I was troubled last night by the discussion. The economics of MFA or a public option failed to deal with two fundamental issues:

TAXES WILL PAY FOR THE PLAN. Whether MFA, a subsidized public option, or expanded Medicaid, we must be honest enough to say those words. Sanders is right...a Universal MFA plan would likely be cheaper than the current system, but the mechanics must not be left vague. Voters are smart enough to figure that out, but I saw NOBODY last night with the courage to lay it out clearly.

MEDICAL COSTS MUST BE REDUCED...NOT JUST INSURANCE. Insurance is the method to impose cost controls on a system that is out of control. If insurers don't fill that role, the new government plans will (and must). Our society CAN NOT afford all of the therapies that have been invented. Multi-million dollar treatments invented and priced by pharma need to be reigned in. "Hail Mary" procedures during the last months of life are cruel and they bankrupt survivors.

A look at one of our local hospitals shows clearly how finance drives investment. Cancer wards are shiny new trimmed in brass and mahogany. The mental health unit is in the basement of a 100 year-old building. Which unit do you suspect is funded by private insurance? Which one largely serves Medicaid patients?

High quality health care that achieves outcomes similar to the rest of the industrialized nations is possible. It can be achieved for far less than we spend now. We must, however, bend the cost curve.

Medical and nursing programs must expand so more providers enter the field. Their school costs need to be socialized so that new doctors don't need to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.

These will be major disruptions to our current medical model. They will not be without some pain and sacrifice to providers and currently-entitled consumers.

The conversation about these disruptions must be made transparently and honestly if you want me to get excited about your plan.