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Oh if only the dems take this advice - as they
Posted on: August 9, 2017 at 08:13:17 CT
GA Tiger MU
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continue in what we hope is their self-destruction.
A Single-Payer Litmus Test For Democrats? Go For It
Socialism: The Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party could mount primary challenges against candidates who don't fully embrace socialized medicine. They should. It would be a clarifying moment for a party that has been drifting toward the extreme left for some time.
Sanders' presidential pollster Ben Tulchin told Politico this week that "within the Democratic Party, this is fast-emerging as a litmus test." And Sanders, in an email to supporters, promises to "take on" not just insurance and drug companies, but "the establishment wing of the Democratic Party" to realize his dream of medical socialism in America.
If they succeed, whatever is left of the old mainstream Democrats would be swept away. And for what?
While polls show support for single-payer health care creeping upward — in which all private insurance plans would be outlawed and every American would be put on the equivalent of Medicaid — that's largely because the polls never bother to point out the massive costs and disruptions of socialized medicine.
The latest IBD/TIPP poll, for example, found that, of those who are following the health care reform debate closely, an astonishingly high 57% say they support "a government-funded single-payer health care system in which all Americans would get health insurance from a single government plan."
That finding is likely exaggerated for the simple reason that those following health care closely may be predisposed to single-payer-style solutions.
Nevertheless, just scratch the veneer of single payer, and support among this subgroup of tumbles.
The IBD/TIPP poll asked a follow-up question, noting that some experts say the high cost of single payer would "lead to reduced access to high quality health care services, as well as longer wait times."
This is precisely what has happened in every country that has imposed single payer on their people, and on single payer programs like the Veterans Health Administration here at home. Government underpays providers, shortages result, and patients wait interminably for "free" treatments, if they can get them at all.
When that prospect is even hinted at, support for single payer drops to 50%. And that's only because Democrats remain firmly behind it. In fact, 65% of Democrats still support single payer when these side effects are mentioned, compared with 29% of Republicans and 49% of Independents. And, again, these numbers include only those following the debate closely.
When IBD/TIPP asked the question in a different way, support collapsed altogether. The poll asked if people believed that "it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide free health care for all Americans."
Just 47% say that it is. Since that's precisely what Bernie Sanders says he wants, it's not good news for the single-payer crowd.
Even this exaggerates public support for socialized medicine.
While Democrats like Sanders constantly talk about the wonders of single-payer, when it comes to actually confronting the huge price tag and the massive disruptions involved in forcing it on the American health care system, even liberal Democrats balk.
That's what happened in Sanders' own home state of Vermont, where the Democratic governor pulled the plug on single payer after confronting its price tag.
It's what happened in Colorado, where voters turned down a single-payer ballot initiative by a margin of 80% to 20%.
And it's why California — which is effectively a single-party state where Democrats can pass any bill they want without having to worry about Republican opposition — shelved its single-payer bill. The $400 billion annual price tag (which was itself a lowball estimate) was too much for them.
Even the liberal Urban Institute said that Sanders' "Medicare for all" would cost the federal government $2.5 trillion a year.
So let Democrats demand that every single candidate running for office pledge to support single payer. It will show the public just how far out of the mainstream the party has drifted, and it will reveal their true intentions of imposing failing European-style socialism on American soil.
And it will give Republicans the chance to offer a clear alternative — market-based solutions that will actually bring down costs and improve quality.
A Single-Payer Litmus Test For Democrats? Go For It
Socialism: The Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party could mount primary challenges against candidates who don't fully embrace socialized medicine. They should. It would be a clarifying moment for a party that has been drifting toward the extreme left for some time.
Sanders' presidential pollster Ben Tulchin told Politico this week that "within the Democratic Party, this is fast-emerging as a litmus test." And Sanders, in an email to supporters, promises to "take on" not just insurance and drug companies, but "the establishment wing of the Democratic Party" to realize his dream of medical socialism in America.
If they succeed, whatever is left of the old mainstream Democrats would be swept away. And for what?
While polls show support for single-payer health care creeping upward — in which all private insurance plans would be outlawed and every American would be put on the equivalent of Medicaid — that's largely because the polls never bother to point out the massive costs and disruptions of socialized medicine.
The latest IBD/TIPP poll, for example, found that, of those who are following the health care reform debate closely, an astonishingly high 57% say they support "a government-funded single-payer health care system in which all Americans would get health insurance from a single government plan."
That finding is likely exaggerated for the simple reason that those following health care closely may be predisposed to single-payer-style solutions.
Nevertheless, just scratch the veneer of single payer, and support among this subgroup of tumbles.
The IBD/TIPP poll asked a follow-up question, noting that some experts say the high cost of single payer would "lead to reduced access to high quality health care services, as well as longer wait times."
This is precisely what has happened in every country that has imposed single payer on their people, and on single payer programs like the Veterans Health Administration here at home. Government underpays providers, shortages result, and patients wait interminably for "free" treatments, if they can get them at all.
When that prospect is even hinted at, support for single payer drops to 50%. And that's only because Democrats remain firmly behind it. In fact, 65% of Democrats still support single payer when these side effects are mentioned, compared with 29% of Republicans and 49% of Independents. And, again, these numbers include only those following the debate closely.
When IBD/TIPP asked the question in a different way, support collapsed altogether. The poll asked if people believed that "it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide free health care for all Americans."
Just 47% say that it is. Since that's precisely what Bernie Sanders says he wants, it's not good news for the single-payer crowd.
Even this exaggerates public support for socialized medicine.
While Democrats like Sanders constantly talk about the wonders of single-payer, when it comes to actually confronting the huge price tag and the massive disruptions involved in forcing it on the American health care system, even liberal Democrats balk.
That's what happened in Sanders' own home state of Vermont, where the Democratic governor pulled the plug on single payer after confronting its price tag.
It's what happened in Colorado, where voters turned down a single-payer ballot initiative by a margin of 80% to 20%.
And it's why California — which is effectively a single-party state where Democrats can pass any bill they want without having to worry about Republican opposition — shelved its single-payer bill. The $400 billion annual price tag (which was itself a lowball estimate) was too much for them.
Even the liberal Urban Institute said that Sanders' "Medicare for all" would cost the federal government $2.5 trillion a year.
So let Democrats demand that every single candidate running for office pledge to support single payer. It will show the public just how far out of the mainstream the party has drifted, and it will reveal their true intentions of imposing failing European-style socialism on American soil.
And it will give Republicans the chance to offer a clear alternative — market-based solutions that will actually bring down costs and improve quality.
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Oh if only the dems take this advice - as they - GA Tiger MU - 8/9 08:13:17