There is an element of convenient fantasy as well in Obama's health care statements to date. We are going to save money by spending money. We are going to solve our fiscal problems with a program that will increase the national debt by $1,000,000,000,000 over a decade. We are going to guarantee you can keep your current insurance with a bill that encourages your employer to stop offering it.
The convenient fantasies of President Obama | Washington Examiner
and people have the audacity to scoff at those who believed Bush ?
They're failing to see the big picture. And it's not being pointed out to them, because it would just be used as a talking point for loons (as in OH NOOOOS, OBAMA IS TRYING TO BANKRUPT THE INSURERS AND MAKE US ALL MARXIST). The bottom line is the insurance industry is spending a whole lot of money right now on administrative costs, marketing, investigating ways to avoid paying, and so on - and is increasing what doctors have to charge due to all the paperwork. A public plan by default is far cheaper because it cuts out the need for a lot of those expenses on several levels. So that's some of the savings. The insurance companies then have to lower prices somewhat and become more efficient to compete. The other part comes from the insurance companies themselves having to shift money to the government. My suspicion - speculative only - is that part of the money planned will be fining insurance companies for dropping people they shouldn't have, etc.
The thing is, we're really spending enough per capita for healthcare. We're just managing it very poorly.