Why do you like single-payer health care better?

[LoZoccolo]

[county worker]

1. It takes the profit motive of insurance companies out of the medical decisions.

[Oregone]

16. Public institutions still have to operate within their allocated budgets

Believe it or not, this can impact performance. Far more procedures can become outpatient procedures and costs can be cut. Then again, you can always argue whether or not this is a good thing. Conversely, in the US, sometimes no costs are cut, such that they can charge more to the bottomless insurance company (who will turn around and charge it back to its patrons).

[gcomeau]

2. It's superior performance in almost every conceivable objective metric?

Do we need any other reasons?

[LoZoccolo]

7. ORLY? n/t

[tkmorris]

9. Yes, really

[gcomeau]

26. Did you want the list or was that snark? -nt

[damntexdem]

12. Yes, there are a number of reasons:

1) a positive track record, more in Europe (e.g., France) even than in Canada;
2) elimination of excessive overhead insurer costs, including (but not limited to) profits;
3) the possibility of social, perhaps even grassroots, control over the system (a la the proposals Ron Dellums used to introduce in the House every year);
4) simplicity; and so on.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. I want a system that covers every health treatment free at the point of use

healthcare is very stressful in this country.

[Oregone]

13. Not to burst your bubble, but there needs to be an open, public debate as to which services should..

...be covered, and which should not. Fertility? Vasectomies? Plastic surgeries? Some elective procedures? You are going to have a tough time getting half the country on board of a basic plan, and you want everything under the sun covered ("every health treatment"). That is not practical.

A very conservative plan that merely covers basic visits, emergencies, hospital, required surgeries, etc, (and not dental/vision), is incredibly easy to sell to the American people, incredibly cheap, and drastically reduces costs for private supplemental insurance plans (vision/dental). Its an approach used here in BC that allows the medical plan to be streamlined and efficient enough to meet people's needs, as well as keep all other private costs under control. You can pick up supplemental private insurance for $50-150 a month, in addition to it.

I do like this hybrid model a lot actually. It solves a lot of philosophical debates instantly about public allocation of funds and private market providers. People don't feel like they are paying taxes to ensure a child has straight teeth from the orthodontist. No matter how fair you think it is that they should, you will never win that argument 100% of the time. This model avoids it completely, and transforms the entire society at the same time by ensuring their population at least doesn't die from being sick. In the end, you can get complete coverage (hybrid) for under $200 a month, and that is an incredible step in the right direction.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. The NHS (UK) can be used as a basic model

plastic surgeries that are related to a medical condition not cosmetic, fertility should be covered, vasectomies.

[Oregone]

24. Fertility is very debatable...

Its a tough sell saying the public as a whole should be responsible for one couple having a child. And at what lengths? Should they pay for octomoms? The 10th child? Having children is a choice people make. Covering the cost to let them do so, well, is most definitely debatable.

Especially when so many children need to be adopted, should the state be responsible for making more?

I think medical needs to take care of the sick, and prevent more of them (While relieving the society of this massive burden, that the private market creates). Further than that, well, you may be asking for a bit too much, too soon.

Im not sure if it is covered here (in BC) or not.

[Clear Blue Sky]

27. Quite right. Much of what is covered now may not be under a single payer system.

Many of the newer and more expensive treatments aren't covered in countries with single payer.

The difficulty will be in who makes those decisions and how they are made. Didn't Oregon go through this a few years ago with big debate over where the coverage line was drawn?

[Warpy]

4. Streamlined bureaucracy and paperwork

will both contribute to lowering costs. The profit motive will be removed, improving service. Best of all, we won't have CEOs parasiting off sick people and employing legions of workers whose sole function is to deny care to sick people.

Single payer has been cheaper in every single country that has it.

Only countries that have a parallel private insurance system have seen single payer underfunded and service decreased.

The free market has failed miserably at health care because whether or not to get sick is not a consumer decision. People who need care simply have no choice but to seek it or die.

[Cleita]

5. It's the health system that works for both patients and health care providers.

It doesn't work for the insurers and HMO's but we don't need them in the equation. They are merely parasites on the system and need to go.

[Juche]

6. Saves $400 billion a year; covers everyone; decisions are made for health reasons and not profit

Its not perfect but its way better than what we've got.

[supernova]

8. UHC or Single payer can put a much greater emphasis on wellness

than we currenly do.

Our system is set up to take care of illness, i.e. what to do with you once you are sick, not try to keep you well as long as possible. Docs get little training in nutrition for one. So, they are really no help with they tell you to 'lose weight, exercise more.'

You can't mandate that people stop smoking, for instance, but you can give them plenty of incentives to stop... free trials of stop smoking meds for one. We could also have a small stipend for gym memberships too. There's all kinds of extra room for focusing on wellness once you drop the profit motive.

[SteelPenguin]

10. Health Care Not Tied To Work

Losing your job doesn't mean losing your health care.

Lets small business offer competitive health benefits to large business.

Decreases H.R. costs for all companies, again helping small businesses.

Worker choice. Hate your job? Quit and find another one without worrying about your health care.

...

Seriously how do we not have it? It's good for business, and good for the workers. You'd think everyone in the country would be behind this other than the anarchists.

[Oregone]

11. Speaking as someone with it....

1. Premiums are low (Ive spent more for 3 hours with a nurse practitioner and 2 stitches than a year of premiums for my entire family--currently $108 a month for family)
2. It ALWAYS pays out for what it covers. You never go to billing. It is illegal for them to send you a bill in the mail later if it is covered. You walk straight from a doctors office to the street (it feels like stealing...we always ask, 'are we done?').
3. You do not have to constantly worry you are an accident or disease away from bankruptcy
4. If your child has a 105+ degree fever, you are not scared to take them to the emergency room.
5. Books on profit/loss and costs are open. It is incredibly accountable
6. You are not restricted in terms of what doctors/clinics you can go to (public or private). Your simply have to show up with your MSP card.
7. For those who cannot afford the service, they are subsidized. It encourages mobility, health and prosperity across the entire socio-economic spectrum

Thats just what Ive experienced so far and thought of real quick. I am 100% happier and less stressed than a year ago without it.

[Sebastian Doyle]

14. Health care should be about preventing, and failing that, treating illness

Not about profit.

[Xenotime]

15. Everyone can afford it.

[Incitatus]

17. No one will die because they don't have insurance. nt

[Skidmore]

19. Eliminating the fighting between insurance companies

would be a good place to start. One set of paperwork is another. Simplify.

[Taverner]

20. Why create the middleman?

Just go straight to the source

Isn't that the Conservatives biggest complaint? Too many middlemen?

[Juche]

22. Give $1 to insurance companies and beg them to give you $0.80 back

That is how it works right now. With single payer you get bulk discounts, streamlined overhead and healthcare can be delivered based on what does the most to promote health and not the most to save and make money.

Every other wealthy country on earth provides good/better quality healthcare to everyone for half the price.

[Taverner]

23. Exactly

And that is why I am for it

It is the most efficient

[DireStrike]

21. Health insurance/care executive compensation figures

http://blogs.webmd.com/mad-about-medicine/2007/08/ceo-compensation-who-said-healthcare-is.html

[cooolandrew]

25. Well it's like saying to seniors why do like medicare cos that's all it is really for all people.

[ulysses]

28. I fail to see the point of the alternative.