Affordable Health Care Law under review by SCOTUS

[onejayhawk]

The big problem with single payer is regulating scarce resources. Every country that has a single payer plan also has a secondary market in high end services, official or gray market. Politically, this is a major sticking point for purists. Another area is aftercare. One thing driving costs up under ACA is chronic care and rehab costs. These are required coverage in all plans.

J

[TranaGreg]

The big problem with single payer is regulating scarce resources. Every country that has a single payer plan also has a secondary market in high end services, official or gray market. Politically, this is a major sticking point for purists. Another area is aftercare. One thing driving costs up under ACA is chronic care and rehab costs. These are required coverage in all plans.

J

You don't say why these are problems. Yeah, we have a secondary market for high end services, but it's pretty clear what is considered basic care - hence covered, and what is extended - not covered. No problem.

Plus here we have an excellent program for outpatient rehab. My mother is on an eight week program right now as a matter of fact.

[Wonderboy]

We live in a country where we have decided that it is more important to spend more on the military than the next nine countries combined, seven of which are our allies, than it is to have decent and affordable medical care for our citizens. So we have the money. We just choose to spend it elsewhere.

[Sour Masher]

We live in a country where we have decided that it is more important to spend more on the military than the next nine countries combined, seven of which are our allies, than it is to have decent and affordable medical care for our citizens. So we have the money. We just choose to spend it elsewhere.

I agree, and this is my go to answer anytime anyone talks about overspending, affordability, or government waste of social services. Until we cut our defense budget in half (and redirect funds into 21st century warfare, like intelligence, espionage, and computer literacy and protection), no one should say anything about our ever-increasing debt, and issues of funding for more relevant and pressing issues that face our country's people.

I get so frustrated by republicans I know who lament their tax dollars going to welfare abusers and say nothing about the defense budget. The defense budget makes up a far more massive percentage of their tax dollars and yet many agree with Trump wanting to actually increase the defense budget by over 10% a year, over $50 billion more a year.

[Wonderboy]

Russia and China combined spend about $300 billion a year, we spend $600 billion, and our allies about $300 billion. If we cut ours in half, we and our allies are still outspending them by double. If we can't provide safety and security by spending twice what our enemies do, then we need someone new in charge.

http://www.pgpf.org/Chart-Archive/0053_defense-comparison

[Sour Masher]

Russia and China combined spend about $300 billion a year, we spend $600 billion, and our allies about $300 billion. If we cut ours in half, we and our allies are still outspending them by double. If we can't provide safety and security by spending twice what our enemies do, then we need someone new in charge.

http://www.pgpf.org/Chart-Archive/00...nse-comparison

I agree. Sadly, cutting our defense budget in half is never going to happen. The military industrial complex is far too big and powerful. It's just never going too happen. But we can certainly fight further increases, and try to modest, incremental cutbacks. Trump's proposed expansion is just insane. We are throwing massive amount of money way on meaningless hardware, irrelevant to modern national defense.

[chancellor]

Oh, and just for further review...California just shelved their single payer plan in committee in the Assembly.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Oh, and just for further review...California just shelved their single payer plan in committee in the Assembly.

Saw that.

[Wonderboy]

We are throwing massive amount of money way on meaningless hardware, irrelevant to modern national defense.

We have the perfect military if Hitler tries to take France. But as usual, our military is (mostly) set up to fight previous wars. We're not going to fight a massive, long-term land war against either Russia or China, which is what we are preparing for at 600 billion a year.

600 billion a year, year after year. Sheesh.

[onejayhawk]

You don't say why these are problems. Yeah, we have a secondary market for high end services, but it's pretty clear what is considered basic care - hence covered, and what is extended - not covered. No problem.

Plus here we have an excellent program for outpatient rehab. My mother is on an eight week program right now as a matter of fact.

The problem is that our single payer people want basic = high-end. Also, rehab services includes drug abuse rehab. Many people object to paying for someone else's poor decisions.

Rather than do basic, ACA more closely resembles catastrophic care, typified by massive deductables, say $100,000. The problem is that the deductables are much too low in the plan as written, this in spite of the many complaints that deductables are too high. It's what often happens when you try to do two things at once. Neither gets done well.

J

[GwynnInTheHall]

The problem is that our single payer people want basic = high-end. Also, rehab services includes drug abuse rehab. Many people object to paying for someone else's poor decisions.

Rather than do basic, ACA more closely resembles catastrophic care, typified by massive deductables, say $100,000. The problem is that the deductables are much too low in the plan as written, this in spite of the many complaints that deductables are too high. It's what often happens when you try to do two things at once. Neither gets done well.

J

Poor decisions?

Society pimps tobacco, alcohol, crap food, over extending financially (to just scratch the surface) and then when people succumb to the ads and constant pressure to get themselves in trouble all of a sudden it's THEIR fault?

Bullshit--it starts with the grotesque fact people will destroy the environment AND their fellow man to make a buck and people who have a financial interest in those kind of people/companies are complicit and SHOULD pay for the end results since they Profit from them.

Cut defense, lower profit margins and make Healthy Americans more important than Wealthy Americans.

ALL Americans.

[Fresno Bob]

Oh, and just for further review...California just shelved their single payer plan in committee in the Assembly.

Yea, our state assembly thought it best that we figure out how to actually fund it before passing it, what a bunch of morans!

[TranaGreg]

The problem is that our single payer people want basic = high-end. Also, rehab services includes drug abuse rehab. Many people object to paying for someone else's poor decisions.

Rather than do basic, ACA more closely resembles catastrophic care, typified by massive deductables, say $100,000. The problem is that the deductables are much too low in the plan as written, this in spite of the many complaints that deductables are too high. It's what often happens when you try to do two things at once. Neither gets done well.

J

I suppose nothing will change until most people are interested in solving the problem rather than getting their way. In the meantime ... well, I'm just glad I live somewhere that it's accepted by the vast majority that it's okay for a portion of my taxes to go to helping somebody in Halifax or Vancouver or Winnipeg ... even if that person made some bad choices.

[chancellor]

Yea, our state assembly thought it best that we figure out how to actually fund it before passing it, what a bunch of morans!

Politically, yes. You best have that figured out before making an announcement to everybody that you have a plan ready to launch. To their credit, however, they avoided the Pelosi "You'll find out what's in it after it's passed" mistake.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Politically, yes. You best have that figured out before making an announcement to everybody that you have a plan ready to launch. To their credit, however, they avoided the Pelosi "You'll find out what's in it after it's passed" mistake.

Sometimes making a public announcement that you're going in a direction allows for those with legitimate concerns to present them and those possibly on the fence to get moving in a direction.

One person or one side of the argument doesn't always have all the answers or the perfect one.