4 ms·

$400B a year with no way to pay for it.

• jjnoakes 9y ago
  $331b, not $400b. And the article talks about ways to pay for it. You just have to read to the end is all...
• toomuchtodo 9y ago
  Instead of everyone paying insurance premiums, they pay through taxes. And no need to argue: almost every other first world country provides universal healthcare funded by taxes. It's both financially possible and prudent. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_universal_health_care https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_unive...
  • dragonwriter 9y ago
    > And no need to argue: almost every other first world country provides universal healthcare funded by taxes. Almost every other developed country provides universal healthcare, but there's a mix of systems and all-public systems are not overwhelmingly dominant. Mandated-purchase with public safety net programs are not uncommon.
    • toomuchtodo 9y ago
      I think we're in agreement? There is a basic level of care in those UHC countries, but then private insurance/services/etc for above and beyond.
      • dragonwriter 9y ago
        In some the model is very similar in outline (but superior in execution) to the US ACA model: everyone is required to buy insurance with certain minimum standards, with subsidies and/or a public fallback program for the indigent. In some there is a universal public baseline program that everyone is on that you may be able to supplement on top of, as you describe, but that's not at all generally true.
• erikpukinskis 9y ago
  Apparently federal, state, and local government are already paying $200 billion for health care, and employers and individuals already pay $150 billion in premiums. Redirect that to taxes and you've got more than the $331 billion estimate needed.