I actually linked the wrong page in my post on the first page, so here is the correct one:
http://www.amsa.org/uhc/
Now to address some common themes in this thread that the above link covers much more in depth:
-The U.S. is not going to turn into communist Russia if we adopt a single-payer healthcare system.
-A single-payer system will still allow you to choose your doctor. Insurance companies are already restrict your choice of doctors, so this really isn't any different.
-A single-payer system is not socialist medicine. Doctors will still be private workers who own their own practices.
-The practical argument for a single-payer system has little to do with whether or not the government owes it to the people to do so (although you could try to make that argument).
-A single-payer healthcare system can be implemented in a way that fixes the flaws in other socialistic medical systems (ie you can have a single payer system that provides primary healthcare, then the option to purchase additional supplemental health care for stuff like hip replacements).
-A single-payer system isn't about providing healthcare to those who don't work to "leech" off our society (our unemployment is at what, 7-9% atm?). That means over 90% of people work. No one is leeching off of anyone here.
-(including this because I saw a post about it) Germany may be a democracy, but German citizens have very little freedom compared to Americans.
Here's the deal: most of you guys here are in the military (aren't I a quick one heh), while I'm still aspiring to be, so you don't have to worry nearly as much about your medical coverage as the average person. Government worker healthcare coverage is much more comprehensive than most private company coverage, and covers you if you get hurt and beyond retirement. You might say that you deserve coverage for life after doing a dangerous job for 20 years, but why doesn't a person deserve that coverage for doing a job for a private company for 40?
Most people get healthcare through their employers anyway. But when someone proposes a coherent plan to consolidate that into a more efficient, cheaper system, we get thrown back into the Red Scare of the 1920s.
Our current medical system is bogged down in inefficient beurocracy. Doctors have to bill insurance companies 3-4x the amount they expect to get paid, just so that they can argue with insurance companies and ultimately get paid the right amount. Do you really think insurance companies pays the doc $500 for a yearly, routine physical of like he writes down on the paper? That process is wasteful, and drives up the cost of healthcare.
Then there's the issue of insurance companies arguing with the actual beneficiaries if something is actually covered or lot. Alternatively, they can delay payment, and in the interim the insured is responsible for the bill. Talk to any doctor or lawyer about what they think about how insurance companies operate. The high cost of healthcare in the U.S. isn't because we have such cutting edge technology or that we're so superior -- it's because insurance companies have us by the balls, and they know it.
Healthcare plans are optional? I don't think most people make enough money to pay out-of-pocket for their family's health care.
Someone mentioned that our prescription drug costs are so high due to research. Ha! Drug companies spend about 15-20% of their gross income on R&D. Oh, and get this: much of R&D is covered by
government funding. Over 60% of pharmaceutical gross goes into ADVERTISING. You think those commercials for prescription drugs, which you can't even buy, are cheap? Did you know that pharmacy companies pay sales reps 6 figures to go from hospital to hospital and give docs goody bags along with free samples of their drugs (this annoyed most doctors I worked with in my time in an ER, simply because they didn't have the time to listen to someone's bs). That's what you're paying for when you go to the counter.
A single-payer system isn't about turning our healthcare into Canada's or Germany's. It's about reforming the asinine system that we have now where we essentially have socialistic healthcare, but the "taxes" are just paid to insurance giants whose CEOs bring home over $2 million a year net income (owner of State Farm).
The alternative is to look at health care as a business, and like any other business, they are entitled to make a profit. The thing is, their product (your well-being) has almost infinite value.
I strongly suggest you guys read the link. If you still think that a single payer system is the way to go, then fine. However, you still must acknowledge that there are serious flaws in our system that must be addressed.
