Again, why Medicare for All would never work

[aociswundumho]

People with Medicare often have co-pays.

I always use Bernie's plan whenever I talk about medicare for all because pretty much everyone on the left supports it. There are no co-pays in Bernie's plan, anything and everything is free.

 

[Michael Cole]

Here are some claims I believe to be true:

1) U.S. healthcare is insanely expensive.

2) Americans, as a group, are not healthy.

3) Most insurance plans are terrible - high deductibles, surprise bills, and claim denials are the norm.


Now imagine flipping a switch: healthcare is suddenly “free.” No co-pays, no deductibles - just walk in. First come, first served.

What happens next?

Everyone shows up.

People who’ve been putting off checkups, procedures, and diagnostics flood the system overnight. Not just the sick, but everyone. Because when something expensive becomes free, demand doesn’t just rise - it explodes.

Hospitals would be swamped. Doctors would be way overbooked.

What nonsense. You make it sound like a doctor visit is a day at the movies. Envisioning hordes of healthy people swamping doctors' offices is straight out of a sci-fi movie, and given the choice, healthy people will pay for the movie before sitting in a waiting room for free.

The next step is waiting lists.

The NHS has 6 million patients on waiting lists.

In Canada, the average wait time from initial visit to treatment is over six months.

Our system would be 5x times larger than the NHS. Socialist institutions work worse the bigger they get.

Btw, can you guess what increased demand does to the price of a service like healthcare? It sends it up, up, up. That means the crazy taxes they imposed to pay for medicare for all aren't going to be nearly enough.

Medicare for All would bankrupt the country.

 

[multivita-man]

The root problem is medical care and services inside the United States is extremely expensive. There's pleny of blame to pass around: picky consumer, insurance companies, medical providers, lawsuits, excessive regulations, etc. If medical care was cheap like in other countries then you don't even need universal healthcare. Everyone just pays out of pocket.

Our hodge-podge system which encourages people to put off getting insurance and care until they're really, really sick is a major reason why medical care is expensive. Lack of transparency is another.