3 ms·

We are now facing the consequences of many decades of inaction to deal with the looming healthcare catastrophe. Now that a majority see a serious need for actio

We are now facing the consequences of many decades of inaction to deal with the looming healthcare catastrophe. Now that a majority see a serious need for action, we will get an avalanche of progress. If the Clintons had been a little less ambitious back in the early 1990's and proposed lowering the age for Medicare coverage by 1 year each year, we could have learned gradually how good an idea this is. If that had worked well, everyone over 40 would now be in (way more than 50% of the health care money), and we could have some confidence that Medicare covering everyone would be a good idea. The course of urgent progress is seldom smooth.

Mirioron 8y ago
And then once you put it into place you realize that your system is not sustainable, just like every other country's healthcare system due to demographics. Now you have a big problem on your hands and the only real solution is to cut back on spending.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  Only in America can we have a military bigger than the next 10 countries combined, but universal healthcare is untenable financially. If your demographics suck, use technology to increase healthcare productivity. If your practitioners are too expensive, train more so their wages are in line with other developed countries. These are not unsolvable problems, and I do not trust anyone who says they cannot be solved.
  - lucas_membrane 8y ago
    I agree, but I do not think that we can write an acceptable, realistic, and unambiguous definition of 'solved' before we start, because fighting with a bear always involves some learn-by-doing. It will take a long time for people to accept that a new healthcare system is anywhere close to good enough, and we cannot confidently anticipate now what will be politically acceptable as 'good enough' after people get accustomed to living and dying under the new system. This could certainly be a project that could organically generate some shared values as a by-product, if it is done with political wisdom and skill, but that is just another aspect of a very rich strengths/weakness/opportunities/threats environment that must be navigated.

Mirioron 8y ago

And then once you put it into place you realize that your system is not sustainable, just like every other country's healthcare system due to demographics. Now you have a big problem on your hands and the only real solution is to cut back on spending.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Only in America can we have a military bigger than the next 10 countries combined, but universal healthcare is untenable financially. If your demographics suck, use technology to increase healthcare productivity. If your practitioners are too expensive, train more so their wages are in line with other developed countries. These are not unsolvable problems, and I do not trust anyone who says they cannot be solved.
- lucas_membrane 8y ago
  I agree, but I do not think that we can write an acceptable, realistic, and unambiguous definition of 'solved' before we start, because fighting with a bear always involves some learn-by-doing. It will take a long time for people to accept that a new healthcare system is anywhere close to good enough, and we cannot confidently anticipate now what will be politically acceptable as 'good enough' after people get accustomed to living and dying under the new system. This could certainly be a project that could organically generate some shared values as a by-product, if it is done with political wisdom and skill, but that is just another aspect of a very rich strengths/weakness/opportunities/threats environment that must be navigated.