This is what President Truman proposed for National Health Insurance in 1945...

[WI_DEM]

Do you think this is what we should do today?

The most controversial aspect of the plan was the proposed national health insurance plan. In the November 19th address, President Truman called for the creation of a national health insurance fund, to be run by the federal government. This fund would be open to all Americans, but would remain optional. Participants would pay monthly fees into the plan, which would cover the cost of any and all medical expenses that arose in a time of need. The government would pay for the cost of services rendered by any doctor who chose to join the program. In addition, the insurance plan would give a cash balance to the policy holder to replace wages lost due to illness or injury.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/anniversaries/healthprogram.htm

Full text of Truman speech:

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=483&st=&st1=

[Captain Hilts]

1. It would develop into a two-tiered system. Look how MDs refuse Medicare patients now. nt

[Cleita]

3. They do?

I have never had a doctor refuse my Medicare, however, many do refuse the privatized Medicare advantage programs including my doctor. Poor payment practices. Doc got stiffed too many times. Also, before I got Medicare, no doctor accepted my Blue Cross plan. I assume probably for similar reasons.

[and-justice-for-all]

4. Medicare pays pretty swiftly and is reliable for the most part...

expanding it would be the right idea.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Yes. nt

[Cleita]

6. Link?

My experience and that of my late husband and many friends don't bear out your allegation. As a matter of fact, since I went on Medicare I have gotten the best medical care ever that I had in my whole life. Previous to that I often didn't bother to go to the doctor because even with insurance I often couldn't afford the deductibles and co-pays.

[Maine-ah]

7. many docs up here started refusing Mainecare while I was on it

I lost my primary doc and now that I have my own health insurance they won't take me back because I am now considered a new patient and they are not accepting any new patients at this time.

[Cleita]

8. Isn't Mainecare your state medicaid insurance? It's not Medicare.

Medicaid is means tested and makes people applying for it jump through hoops to qualify. That is two-tiered, which is why we can never let a public option be any less than Medicare that operates under a different set of rules.

[Maine-ah]

11. yes it is.

[and-justice-for-all]

2. For the most part yes...

but Doctors should have to accept it. If they are not told to do so by law, then there would be a massive gap and people would be driving miles just to go to see a doctor who accepted the plan.

I wish Truman would have enacted this by executive order in 1945.

[JVS]

9. Sounds good. Let's go with it.

[Cleita]

10. A public plan becomes two-tiered when they start practicing

means testing. Then the plan starts becoming underfunded, it pays less and doctors don't want to accept it. This is what has happened to the states' Medicaid programs. Medicare operates differently. All seniors rich or poor have to have a Medicare card. Whatever Medicare pays for, insurance can't come in and cover it instead for the better off. They have to use it or pay out of pocket. Lately, there has been an erosion of this with the Medicare advantage programs, in which seniors sign off their benefits. Medicare gives the money to the insurers to do coverage as they see fit. On the surface it looks good. My husband got sucked into one of them.

Sure they supposedly paid for everything including prescriptions except for some small copay. Well, the list of physicians they gave us weren't accepting any new patients under the plan although they were accepting traditional Medicare. Then he had a stroke when we were up in the woods and I had to get him lifted out by helicopter to a hospital in the city. It cost us $10,000 out of pocket because the plan refused to pay. You want to know why? Because I didn't call them and get permission. Shit I had to run to the nearest ranger station to get them to call an ambulance. They weren't about to call the insurance too. (This was in the days before cell phones). If I had kept the traditional Medicare, it would have paid 80% with no need to get permission. I hope that we can get legislation to end these programs that are making Medicare less effective.

However, I have found that traditional Medicare in spite of all the efforts the Republicans have done to shoot holes in it still functions better than any other health plans. The state programs are in trouble and many doctors won't accept them. I know people often get the two confused but they are different species.