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As a Canadian observer I don't understand why Democrats don't go after the small business angle of single payer much, much harder. Don't get me wrong; the lack

As a Canadian observer I don't understand why Democrats don't go after the small business angle of single payer much, much harder. Don't get me wrong; the lack of health care for poor and at risk populations in the US is a complete disaster, but that argument hasn't swayed the debate for decades now, so it's time for a new approach. Health care being tied to employment is anti-startup and anti-small business, full stop. In countries with single payer (or similar) systems you can change jobs without any impact to your coverage, you can start a business knowing your family's health and financial future won't be affected.

sjg007 9y ago
I dunno, the poor get medicaid which is great insurance. The real problem is that they are too poor to utilize it. The other issue is that medicaid has a state component so you see drastic differences in implementation even though there are Federal minimums.
currymj 9y ago
Democrats do not all want single payer healthcare. Only the left wing of the party really wants it, although this is slowly changing. Center and center-right Democrats are pretty happy with the ACA as it was intended, although often not as it actually turns out in many states. Unsurprisingly, a lot of them take big contributions from insurers and pharmaceutical companies. I think if single payer becomes widely accepted within the party, you probably will see the "helping entrepreneurs" angle as a big part of the messaging -- individual candidates do bring it up.
- tptacek 9y ago
  Ideologues on both sides have very specific ideas for how health care should be structured, but I think that most people on both sides can agree on basic principles: health insurance (if that's what we have) needs to be guaranteed-issue, premiums have to be reasonable, and pricing needs to be transparent. One thing the ACA got right is the name of the bill.

sjg007 9y ago

I dunno, the poor get medicaid which is great insurance. The real problem is that they are too poor to utilize it. The other issue is that medicaid has a state component so you see drastic differences in implementation even though there are Federal minimums.

currymj 9y ago

Democrats do not all want single payer healthcare. Only the left wing of the party really wants it, although this is slowly changing. Center and center-right Democrats are pretty happy with the ACA as it was intended, although often not as it actually turns out in many states. Unsurprisingly, a lot of them take big contributions from insurers and pharmaceutical companies. I think if single payer becomes widely accepted within the party, you probably will see the "helping entrepreneurs" angle as a big part of the messaging -- individual candidates do bring it up.

tptacek 9y ago
Ideologues on both sides have very specific ideas for how health care should be structured, but I think that most people on both sides can agree on basic principles: health insurance (if that's what we have) needs to be guaranteed-issue, premiums have to be reasonable, and pricing needs to be transparent. One thing the ACA got right is the name of the bill.