Wednesday, October 31, 2018

A Moderate Republican Plan To Fix American Healthcare: 'Medicare For All'?

A Moderate Republican Plan To Fix American Healthcare: 'Medicare For All'?: What if "Medicare for All" ends up being a politically moderate way to bring more market competition to the U.S. healthcare system?

Pros and Cons

The control of the system by large for-profit insurance companies is a major con not seen here.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Here's an argument for single-payer healthcare | PennLive Letters | PennLive.com

Here's an argument for single-payer healthcare | PennLive Letters | PennLive.com: It makes financial sense.
This helps point out some basic issues in a simple form. Choice of provider should not mean the choice of an insurance company. Cost of advertising and profits and high insurance company exec pay should not be considered part of the cost of my actually getting health care. Medicare Advantage Plans should not be the model for a new system - it costs too much and takes our freedom of choice away. There is a big difference between the concept behind Medicare For All and Medicare Advantage. Original Medicare planning did not include giving us all away to the control of for-profit insurance companies. That evolved via $ from insurance companies in lobbying and campaign work. Medical Care For All is what we all are thinking of when we hear and see the pitch of Medicare For All. The concept of insurance should not apply to our access to basic health care services. Insurance companies do not provide health care. They "manage" it. They manage us patients and they manage our doctors. They manage us all to maximize profits, NOT to maximize our health. Their goal is to reduce our access to care so as to increase profits. They are responsible for this county's high cost of health care because their costs are included in those numbers. We can provide universal access by taking their costs out of the equation.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

What Obamacare health insurance costs in every state

What Obamacare health insurance costs in every state: The cost of health insurance through state and federal marketplaces was all over the map in 2018 -- with premiums soaring in some states and sinking in others. Where does your state stand?

Voting does affect your health.







Compare WI & MN:

36. Wisconsin: $502/month
2017: $350/month
2018: $502/month
Change: +43.5 percent

10. Minnesota: $365/month
2017: $429/month
2018: $365/month
Change: -15.1 percent

Minnesota saw a significant decrease in premiums for plans on the state’s health care exchange in 2018 after a new reinsurance program was created. For 2019, all of the private insurance companies on the exchange have proposed lower premiums, according to HealthInsurance.org.

Friday, October 26, 2018

10 Reasons Medicare Advantage Plans Will Never Meet Our Needs

10 Reasons Medicare Advantage Plans Will Never Meet Our Needs: More and more policymakers and Americans are recognizing the value of Medicare for All, a national health insurance program run by the government on behalf of its citizens. But there is still some confusion about the role commercial insurers might play in such a system. | By Diane Archer

Republicans are mischaracterizing nearly all their major policies. Why?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-are-mischaracterizing-nearly-all-their-major-policies-why/2018/10/25/138dff92-d891-11e8-a10f-b51546b10756_story.html?fbclid=IwAR0DX09IeW886MkEySocuRryKT7nz2GVLmg6B9iRr28p34aqN7WUzHX5stM&noredirect=on&utm_term=.1e006b33c19b
"If expensive illnesses befall some unlucky members of society, and they lacked the foresight or haven’t saved enough to plan for this risk on their own, then too bad. Life ain’t fair."

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

End the Corporate Health Care Tax

End the Corporate Health Care Tax

AP-NORC/MTV Poll: Young people back single-payer health care - ABC News

AP-NORC/MTV Poll: Young people back single-payer health care - ABC News

Mexico’s Discount-Health-Care Problem | The Nation

Mexico’s Discount-Health-Care Problem | The Nation: Affordable clinic–pharmacies have vastly expanded health-care access for Mexicans. They’ve also bred a dangerous attitude towards prescription drugs.

I suspect this is what Trump, et. al., would want for their idea of a health care system for most citizens.

Monday, October 22, 2018


Monday, October 15, 2018

As Blue Wave Crests, Health Insurers Brace For 'Medicare For All' Push

As Blue Wave Crests, Health Insurers Brace For 'Medicare For All' Push: An effort to derail Medicare for All proposals is underway by health insurance lobbies Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and America's Health Insurance Plans.

Medicare for All: Democrats look to health care option as political win - INSIDER

Medicare for All: Democrats look to health care option as political win - INSIDER: Democrats are increasingly supporting "Medicare for All" — a single-payer healthcare system championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and the progressive wing of the party.

Sunday, October 14, 2018


Saturday, October 13, 2018

Trump set to sign bills lifting pharmacist 'gag orders' on drug prices

Trump set to sign bills lifting pharmacist 'gag orders' on drug prices: The president is expected to approve legislation Wednesday that will allow pharmacists to share lower drug prices with patients.

Friday, October 12, 2018

Suppose Democrats win on “Medicare for All”: What happens then, and will it work? | Salon.com

Suppose Democrats win on “Medicare for All”: What happens then, and will it work? | Salon.com

Trump's USA Today op-ed shows how GOP will fight Medicare for all.

Trump's USA Today op-ed shows how GOP will fight Medicare for all.: The main line of attack will sound awfully familiar.

Republicans try to rewrite history and paint themselves as the real defenders of Medicare – ThinkProgress

Republicans try to rewrite history and paint themselves as the real defenders of Medicare – ThinkProgress

Opinion | Goodbye, Political Spin, Hello Blatant Lies - The New York Times

Opinion | Goodbye, Political Spin, Hello Blatant Lies - The New York Times: Black is white, up is down, and Republicans are defenders of Medicare.

Trump Falsely Claims That ‘Medicare for All’ Would Turn the U.S. Into Venezuela - The New York Times

Trump Falsely Claims That ‘Medicare for All’ Would Turn the U.S. Into Venezuela - The New York Times: President Trump has repeatedly claimed that Democrats’ “Medicare for all” proposal would send the United States into an economic tailspin similar to Venezuela’s. This warning is wrong about the root causes of Venezuela's crisis and ignores that Mr. Trump himself previously championed single-payer health care.

This chart explains why Americans are so angry about health care And why they’re becoming more open to the idea of single-payer

This chart explains why Americans are so angry about health care


And why they’re becoming more open to the idea of single-payer.

- Vox: And why they’re becoming more open to the idea of single-payer.

Thursday, October 4, 2018


GOP ads falsely depict Democrats as supporters of Sanders’s health plan - The Washington Post

GOP ads falsely depict Democrats as supporters of Sanders’s health plan - The Washington Post: A torrent of GOP attack ads has targeted Democrats with supporting a government takeover of health care that they do not actually support.

We may hate politics but getting the right people elected is the only way we can achieve universal access to health care.

Here is a PBS recent documentary that helps explain what we have to overcome -- the influence of Dark Money.