4 ms·

> But the track record is so poor, and there is such little transparency, that they have no trust whatsoever. The track record of... Medicare? It's one of the

> But the track record is so poor, and there is such little transparency, that they have no trust whatsoever. The track record of... Medicare? It's one of the most popular programs in government! What you've done is just aborb spin. It's true that these people don't trust "The Government" to provide health care, because their thought leaders (and peers like you) keep telling them that. But then they go and enroll in Medicare anyway, and it pays for their care, and because nothing breaks and it's never in the news they don't even think about it. At some point you'd think the truth would break through, but it just doesn't seem to be happening. Literally every health care system sucks for someone, it's a complicated problem. But everywhere, both within and outside the US, the systems that work BEST are government-run.

zdragnar 5y ago
There is no alternative to Medicare given the risk profile for the elderly. It has high approval because there is no other option. It is also not universally accepted- this is only anecdotal, of course, but I had a doctor tell me he didnt accept it because the rates for some procedures worked out to be below the state's hourly minimum wage. Perhaps a better example would be the VA- government run hospitals and coverage that is perenially in the news for some new corruption or incompetence scandal, and a very very hit or miss reputation.
- amanaplanacanal 5y ago
  So if we get rid of Medicare, do you think private insurance would step into the gap and the elderly would then have better health care?
  - zdragnar 5y ago
    Sorry, I thought I was clear that the risk profile of the elderly precluded private insurance as being an option. The elderly would get better care if more hospitals and doctors accepted it; there are several ways to achieve this with, I suspect, mixed results.
- newacct583 5y ago
  The point is that Medicare is a solid floor of service that we know works. People with good corporate insurance do better. Everyone else either qualifies for Medicare or they do significantly worse. Virtually all of the putative working class republicans "opposed to government health care" would be better served by Medicare. Period.
tacitusarc 5y ago
This is a way more difficult conversation to have with a reasonably informed person on the right than you are making it out to be... The social security fund has been “borrowed from” to fund other programs. The government is clearly in the pocket of big Parma. The government uses taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street. The government allocates subsidies based on lobbying groups. The IRS specifically targeted right wing groups applying for non profit status. The list goes on and on. So people on the right are not keen to give that structure more money and power. It doesn’t matter how successful you may think Medicare is. The power structure and track record of the entity which would manage universal healthcare is abysmal. I think there is a way to do it which could make the whole program solid and resilient against abuse but the proposals all come from the left who don’t seem particularly interested in resiliency.
- tacitusarc 5y ago
  Also, I really really wish we had a good universal healthcare system. Being unemployed and terrified of being injured sucks

zdragnar 5y ago

There is no alternative to Medicare given the risk profile for the elderly. It has high approval because there is no other option. It is also not universally accepted- this is only anecdotal, of course, but I had a doctor tell me he didnt accept it because the rates for some procedures worked out to be below the state's hourly minimum wage. Perhaps a better example would be the VA- government run hospitals and coverage that is perenially in the news for some new corruption or incompetence scandal, and a very very hit or miss reputation.

amanaplanacanal 5y ago
So if we get rid of Medicare, do you think private insurance would step into the gap and the elderly would then have better health care?
- zdragnar 5y ago
  Sorry, I thought I was clear that the risk profile of the elderly precluded private insurance as being an option. The elderly would get better care if more hospitals and doctors accepted it; there are several ways to achieve this with, I suspect, mixed results.
newacct583 5y ago
The point is that Medicare is a solid floor of service that we know works. People with good corporate insurance do better. Everyone else either qualifies for Medicare or they do significantly worse. Virtually all of the putative working class republicans "opposed to government health care" would be better served by Medicare. Period.

tacitusarc 5y ago

This is a way more difficult conversation to have with a reasonably informed person on the right than you are making it out to be... The social security fund has been “borrowed from” to fund other programs. The government is clearly in the pocket of big Parma. The government uses taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street. The government allocates subsidies based on lobbying groups. The IRS specifically targeted right wing groups applying for non profit status. The list goes on and on. So people on the right are not keen to give that structure more money and power. It doesn’t matter how successful you may think Medicare is. The power structure and track record of the entity which would manage universal healthcare is abysmal. I think there is a way to do it which could make the whole program solid and resilient against abuse but the proposals all come from the left who don’t seem particularly interested in resiliency.

tacitusarc 5y ago
Also, I really really wish we had a good universal healthcare system. Being unemployed and terrified of being injured sucks