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'We need fundamental changes': US doctors call for universal healthcare

TheDemSocialist

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A group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the establishment of a universal government-run health system in the US, in a paper in the American Journal of Public Health.
According to the proposal released Thursday, the Affordable Care Act did not go far enough in removing barriers to healthcare access. The physicians’ bold plan calls for implementing a single-payer system similar to Canada’s, called the National Health Program, that would guarantee all residents healthcare.

The new single-payer system would be funded mostly by existing US government funding. The physicians point out that the US government already pays for two-thirds of all healthcare spending in the US, and a single-payer system would cut down on administrative costs, so a transition to a single-payer system would not require significant additional spending.


Under the proposal, all US residents would be able to see any physician of their choosing in the country and be treated at any hospital. With guaranteed coverage and no co-pays, deductibles and premiums, patients would not have financial barriers to seeking care, which would lead to greater utilization of the system and improved health outcomes, Himmelstein argues.
The additional funds would be made up by modest tax increases in exchange for abolishing insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays.
Fees for medication would be negotiated with pharmaceutical companies the same way other countries with single-payer systems already negotiate for lower cost medications. Currently, US drug prices are some of the highest in the world.
Himmelstein said this type of reform can’t be done state by state. The physicians’ plan depends in part on cost containment through having a single payer with the power to negotiate drug pricing with pharmaceutical companies as well as eliminating many levels of bureaucracy in billing and insurance registration.


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'We need fundamental changes': US doctors call for universal healthcare

I can definitely get behind this. Its a shame that the US isnt were the rest of the industrialized world is with this kind of health care system. And I would have to agree with Himmelstein when he says that this cannot be done on a state by state basis. There needs to be a "single payer" and not 50 payers. And I also would agree that right now as it stands its pretty politically unrealistic to expect this to be implemented in the next 4-8 years. If anything it serves as a strong rallying cry and keeps attention on the issue of the US joining the rest of the world with universal single payer health care.
 
Read more @: [/FONT][/COLOR]'We need fundamental changes': US doctors call for universal healthcare

I can definitely get behind this. Its a shame that the US isnt were the rest of the industrialized world is with this kind of health care system. And I would have to agree with Himmelstein when he says that this cannot be done on a state by state basis. There needs to be a "single payer" and not 50 payers. And I also would agree that right now as it stands its pretty politically unrealistic to expect this to be implemented in the next 4-8 years. If anything it serves as a strong rallying cry and keeps attention on the issue of the US joining the rest of the world with universal single payer health care.

We already have universal healthcare.
 
Read more @: [/FONT][/COLOR]'We need fundamental changes': US doctors call for universal healthcare

I can definitely get behind this. Its a shame that the US isnt were the rest of the industrialized world is with this kind of health care system. And I would have to agree with Himmelstein when he says that this cannot be done on a state by state basis. There needs to be a "single payer" and not 50 payers. And I also would agree that right now as it stands its pretty politically unrealistic to expect this to be implemented in the next 4-8 years. If anything it serves as a strong rallying cry and keeps attention on the issue of the US joining the rest of the world with universal single payer health care.

Obamacare is just a give away to the insurance companies. We don't have true universal healthcare, just a mandate backed by government force that we buy insurance.

We do need a fundamental change, but people in this system are getting rich, and they are the ones that have government's ear. So I wouldn't hold my breath for a true universal healthcare system in this country.
 
They're not very explicit about who takes the haircut. Their office staffs?
 
Walk into any ED in the country, you'll get treated.

Which is not what people are talking about when they bring up Universal Healthcare.

You're deliberately playing a game of semantics. You know what the actual proposal is, would you like to debate that proposal?
 
Which is not what people are talking about when they bring up Universal Healthcare.

You're deliberately playing a game of semantics. You know what the actual proposal is, would you like to debate that proposal?

If you get cancer, you can get treated at any hospital that treats cancer. Same applies to other things to.

If you wish to talk about universal insurance, say so.
 
Walk into any ED in the country, you'll get treated.

then we only have universal EMERGENCY health care
how about preventative medicine
do they dispense that in the ERs
 
then we only have universal EMERGENCY health care
how about preventative medicine
do they dispense that in the ERs

If you have cancer or whatever, you can get treated anywhere where cancer is treated. Ditto for other conditions.
 
If you have cancer or whatever, you can get treated anywhere where cancer is treated. Ditto for other conditions.

what about preventive care
where does one obtain that
 
Walk into any ED in the country, you'll get treated.

Getting treated by the ER and then getting a fat bill does not mean we have universal health care....
 
The fact that anyone can get medical treatment, means we have universal healthcare.

:lamo No it doesnt. Universal healthcare is when health care and financial protection is provided to all citizens of a particular country. In this case, in the OP link, its universal healthcare provided by the state.
 
what about preventive care
where does one obtain that

You mean things like:
  • Flu and pneumonia shots
  • Well-woman visits
  • Contraception
  • Regular well-baby and well-child visits from birth to age 21
  • Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling, including the cost of renting breastfeeding equipment
  • Counseling, screening, and vaccines to ensure healthy pregnancies
  • Blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol tests
  • Many cancer screenings, including mammograms and colonoscopies
  • Counseling and treatment to stop smoking
  • Counseling for weight loss and healthy eating
  • Depression screening
  • Counseling to reduce alcohol use or treat problem drinking
  • Routine vaccinations for children and adults against diseases such as measles, polio, and meningitis

State of Oregon: Health - Preventive care services
https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-children/
https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-women/
https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-adults/
 
:lamo No it doesnt. Universal healthcare is when health care and financial protection is provided to all citizens of a particular country. In this case, in the OP link, its universal healthcare provided by the state.

Universal healthcare means healthcare for all. That's just what words mean.
 
So what does that have to do with my question??

Which state doesn't have a publicly funded healthcare program for those who can't afford it??

Its called the Medicaid gap... States administer Medicaid (AKA those state programs you are talking about). Federal govenrment provides most of the cost to these programs, while the state provides some as well and the states administer it. I think its pretty funny you guys are seriously trying to argue that we have universal healthcare here...
 
Its called the Medicaid gap... States administer Medicaid (AKA those state programs you are talking about). Federal govenrment provides most of the cost to these programs, while the state provides some as well and the states administer it. I think its pretty funny you guys are seriously trying to argue that we have universal healthcare here...

So what does that have to do with my question??

Which state doesn't have a publicly funded healthcare program for those who can't afford it??
 
Universal healthcare means healthcare for all. That's just what words mean.

Even if we go with your simple and incredibly narrow definition of universal healthcare we simply still do not have universal healthcare.
 
So what does that have to do with my question??
That there still exists a Medicaid gap. Just because the state administers some sort of program does not mean that everyone is still covered.

Which state doesn't have a publicly funded healthcare program for those who can't afford it??
Which state? None. That does not mean that everyone is covered. Are you honestly arguing that everyone is covered in this country either by private insurance, medicaid or medicare? Are you seriously arguing that we have universal healthcare in this country? Around 33 million people in this country dont have health insurance for one reason or another. Around 4 million of those 33 million fall in the medicaid gap. 33 Million Americans Still Don’t Have Health Insurance | FiveThirtyEight
 
So what does that have to do with my question??

Which state doesn't have a publicly funded healthcare program for those who can't afford it??

All of them

Because in all 50 states, there are people who can't afford health care and also do not qualify for these programs.

In Texas, the income threshold for medicaid is a hilarious eighteen percent of the federal poverty level. $3600 a year for a family of three: if you make more than $3600, you aren't eligible for medicaid. Texas could have increased this threshold to 138% almost entirely paid for by the Feds, starting fully-funded and eventually scaling back to a paltry 90% federal support. They turned the money down.

Because Texas is a titanic asshole of a state.
 
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