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Yes, but that comes from it being available to everyone (of a certain age), which is the same advantage a basic income has. Unfortunately Medicare runs headlon
by scarmig 13y ago
Yes, but that comes from it being available to everyone (of a certain age), which is the same advantage a basic income has.
Unfortunately Medicare runs headlong into the other point the comment above was making: Medicare forces you to spend a very large income grant on a very particular category of consumer good. And that effectively forces huge spending on healthcare when society would be better off if they could spend it on other things.
- princess3000 13y agoHealthcare is not a consumer good and people would still need it regardless of whether or not it's paid for by Medicare.
- Kluny 13y agoSuppose the money was spent on better nutrition, exercise, good heating/insulation for seniors, instead of on curative medical care after something goes wrong?
- otikik 13y ago> better nutrition, exercise In the states. Really.
- nsxwolf 13y agoHealthcare is absolutely a consumer good. I don't even know how to begin to try and understand your claim.
- eftpotrm 13y agoNot that health economics is my area of expertise so feel free to contradict me, but I believe the US per-capita healthcare spending on Medicare, Medicaid et al is actually higher than comparable nations with universal healthcare. The rationing, measuring and paying is really very expensive to administer.
- pessimizer 13y ago>the US per-capita healthcare spending on Medicare, Medicaid et al is actually higher than comparable nations with universal healthcare. This is true. >The rationing, measuring and paying is really very expensive to administer. This is not. We have written legislation that prevents us from negotiating for healthcare goods and services; we protect US doctors from foreign competition and allow the profession to artificially constrain the supply. We also prevent Americans from importing drugs, or buying into other countries' health care systems - also shielding the domestic market from competition. Also, patents and reformulations. Administration is actually a very small overhead. Rent-seeking is the problem.