Poll: Majority of Democrats and Republicans support Medicare for all

[Mac1958]

please actually think about what you say you want.

Sure. What I want is an expansion of the already-existing Medicare / Medicare Advantage / Medicare Supplement system to all. An already-functioning private/public health care payment and delivery system that is working well by providing excellent public-covered preventive and diagnostic coverage and dynamic free market competition and innovation.

Some tweaks I'd like to see include lower public Medicare coverage and higher private MA/Supplement buy-in and coverage for younger people with age-based step-ups to maintain flatter costs for both program and participant. That's an idea you haven't seen anywhere else.

Having taken annual Medicare/MA/Supplement training for several years, having helped many advisory clients in the process of choosing plans, having worked with a Fortune 100 insurer from the financial side for several years as they put together MA plans piece by piece in my state, and having worked with many business owner clients as they struggle to pay for group plans, I would say I have thought a great deal about this, as well as having had many discussions about it with peers, and know far more about the system than most people.

My opinions are based specifically on significant training and many years of professional hands-on experience in this area, and not on partisan political ideology.

And yes, I advocate for adding four new and higher personal income tax brackets to 59.9%, as I point out in the link at the end of the second line of my sig.
.

 

[BlueGin]

Who is "they"?

You do realize every ER is required to give you care. And all hospitals have a indigent fund for the poor...right?

Have you seen the quality of care they give people in ER's. It's pretty much "Make sure they don't die here."

I have, and it's pretty much "do everything possible to guard against a lawsuit." Then they proceed to run every test under the sun whether it's related to the injury or not.

They can't run every test possible. Medicare audits them and then charges penalties ( in the millions per year). Since they only allow less than the bare minimum.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

'A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 85% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans support Medicare for all.

Why it matters: This single-payer system has divided the Democratic Party internally and gave Republicans a new way to attack Democrats in 2018. But this poll is the first to suggest that a majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle actually like this policy and that it could be a winning issue for candidates.

By the numbers: Two-thirds of Democratic nominees in 41 battleground House districts "want to expand the government’s role in healthcare," per Reuters.

• At least 70 House Democrats have joined the "Medicare for All" caucus, with more expected after the November midterms.
• And most House Dems support a Medicare for All bill, which has "six members of the Blue Dog caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats signing on as co-sponsors," Reuters notes.

Be smart: This policy is only going to get more attention as we head into the 2020 presidential election, when it will likely be a litmus test for Democratic candidates.'

Poll: Majority of Democrats and Republicans support Medicare for all

For better or worse - like it or not, sooner or later - it looks like single payer will become a fact of life in America.

I could use a new lawn tractor since you're splurging

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Who is "they"?

You do realize every ER is required to give you care. And all hospitals have a indigent fund for the poor...right?

Have you seen the quality of care they give people in ER's. It's pretty much "Make sure they don't die here."

I have, and it's pretty much "do everything possible to guard against a lawsuit." Then they proceed to run every test under the sun whether it's related to the injury or not.

They can't run every test possible. Medicare audits them and then charges penalties ( in the millions per year). Since they only allow less than the bare minimum.

That's not my experience but then again, I'm not on Medicare.

My experience is they run you through any and everything in effort to protect themselves from any accusation of incompetency. It's part of the problem of healthcare being unaffordable today. While most lawsuit fail, the cost for administrations to protect themselves is a fortune. It's no secret that insurance companies hire the best lawyers possible for that protection, and those people are likely doing better than six figures a year.

 

[BlueGin]

Who is "they"?

You do realize every ER is required to give you care. And all hospitals have a indigent fund for the poor...right?

Have you seen the quality of care they give people in ER's. It's pretty much "Make sure they don't die here."

I have, and it's pretty much "do everything possible to guard against a lawsuit." Then they proceed to run every test under the sun whether it's related to the injury or not.

They can't run every test possible. Medicare audits them and then charges penalties ( in the millions per year). Since they only allow less than the bare minimum.

That's not my experience but then again, I'm not on Medicare.

My experience is they run you through any and everything in effort to protect themselves from any accusation of incompetency. It's part of the problem of healthcare being unaffordable today. While most lawsuit fail, the cost for administrations to protect themselves is a fortune. It's no secret that insurance companies hire the best lawyers possible for that protection, and those people are likely doing better than six figures a year.

I agree about protecting themselves from lawsuits. Which is why they harp on you to sign paperwork about DNR from the second you show up until you leave.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

please actually think about what you say you want.

Sure. What I want is an expansion of the already-existing Medicare / Medicare Advantage / Medicare Supplement system to all. An already-functioning private/public health care payment and delivery system that is working well by providing excellent public-covered preventive and diagnostic coverage and dynamic free market competition and innovation.

Some tweaks I'd like to see include lower public Medicare coverage and higher private MA/Supplement buy-in and coverage for younger people with age-based step-ups to maintain flatter costs for both program and participant. That's an idea you haven't seen anywhere else.

Having taken annual Medicare/MA/Supplement training for several years, having helped many advisory clients in the process of choosing plans, having worked with a Fortune 100 insurer from the financial side for several years as they put together MA plans piece by piece in my state, and having worked with many business owner clients as they struggle to pay for group plans, I would say I have thought quite a bit about this, and know far more about the system than most people.

My opinions are based specifically on significant training and many years of professional hands-on experience in this area, and not on partisan political ideology.

And yes, I advocate for adding four new and higher personal income tax brackets to 59.9%, as I point out in the link at the end of the second line of my sig.
.

What they should have done long ago is allow people with preexisting conditions to buy into Medicare if they couldn't get affordable insurance on their own.

I checked into disability because I don't know when government is going to stop me from working. I found out that if on full-time disability, you can buy into Medicare after two years. The plans are more than affordable and come on several levels depending on what you can afford.

By taking people with preexisting conditions out of the insurance pool, they can lower rates for everybody else.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Who is "they"?

You do realize every ER is required to give you care. And all hospitals have a indigent fund for the poor...right?

Have you seen the quality of care they give people in ER's. It's pretty much "Make sure they don't die here."

I have, and it's pretty much "do everything possible to guard against a lawsuit." Then they proceed to run every test under the sun whether it's related to the injury or not.

They can't run every test possible. Medicare audits them and then charges penalties ( in the millions per year). Since they only allow less than the bare minimum.

That's not my experience but then again, I'm not on Medicare.

My experience is they run you through any and everything in effort to protect themselves from any accusation of incompetency. It's part of the problem of healthcare being unaffordable today. While most lawsuit fail, the cost for administrations to protect themselves is a fortune. It's no secret that insurance companies hire the best lawyers possible for that protection, and those people are likely doing better than six figures a year.

I agree about protecting themselves from lawsuits. Which is why they harp on you to sign paperwork about DNR from the second you show up until you leave.

I'm an older person so I can remember the days where you only went to one doctor most of the time. Today, doctors are merely referral agents of sorts. They want to pass off their liability to somebody else. So now, to get a problem solved, you don't see one doctor, you see two or three, and of course, this gets very expensive for government systems as well as private insurance.

Since you're in the industry, you know that years ago, you could never just go to a specialist. The insurance company would only allow that if your primary doctor refereed you to one. Today, they welcome going to a specialist first because they know that's all your family doctor is going to do anyway, and it saves them from paying that initial visit.

 

[JoeB131]

Yes. Medicare is a scam. Most things liberals support are.

No, the scam was letting old people buy insurance policies and medicare ends up covering them anyway.

Get rid of the scammers in big insurance.

 

[JoeB131]

'm an older person so I can remember the days where you only went to one doctor most of the time. Today, doctors are merely referral agents of sorts. They want to pass off their liability to somebody else. So now, to get a problem solved, you don't see one doctor, you see two or three, and of course, this gets very expensive for government systems as well as private insurance.

Again, back in the day, Doctors could do much for you and the average person died in their 60's...

We have specialists now because medical treatment has advanced so much.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

please actually think about what you say you want.

Sure. What I want is an expansion of the already-existing Medicare / Medicare Advantage / Medicare Supplement system to all. An already-functioning private/public health care payment and delivery system that is working well by providing excellent public-covered preventive and diagnostic coverage and dynamic free market competition and innovation.

Some tweaks I'd like to see include lower public Medicare coverage and higher private MA/Supplement buy-in and coverage for younger people with age-based step-ups to maintain flatter costs for both program and participant. That's an idea you haven't seen anywhere else.

Having taken annual Medicare/MA/Supplement training for several years, having helped many advisory clients in the process of choosing plans, having worked with a Fortune 100 insurer from the financial side for several years as they put together MA plans piece by piece in my state, and having worked with many business owner clients as they struggle to pay for group plans, I would say I have thought a great deal about this, as well as having had many discussions about it with peers, and know far more about the system than most people.

My opinions are based specifically on significant training and many years of professional hands-on experience in this area, and not on partisan political ideology.

And yes, I advocate for adding four new and higher personal income tax brackets to 59.9%, as I point out in the link at the end of the second line of my sig.
.

I like the Singapore system

Is Singapore’s "miracle" health care system the answer for America?

 

[JoeB131]

My opinions are based specifically on significant training and many years of professional hands-on experience in this area, and not on partisan political ideology.

In other words, Stormy Mac makes money off of the system, so that makes itokay, even though the insurance companies are getting fat and providing inferior service.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

'm an older person so I can remember the days where you only went to one doctor most of the time. Today, doctors are merely referral agents of sorts. They want to pass off their liability to somebody else. So now, to get a problem solved, you don't see one doctor, you see two or three, and of course, this gets very expensive for government systems as well as private insurance.

Again, back in the day, Doctors could do much for you and the average person died in their 60's...

We have specialists now because medical treatment has advanced so much.

Then you don't know many doctors. Unless you have the flu, an infection, a cough, you get referred to a specialist for everything else because of liability. These doctors can treat just about anything, but if something goes wrong, the first question out of a lawyers mouth is "why didn't you refer my client to a specialist?"

I know you won't read the link, but I'll provide it anyway. Here is one paragraph from the article I'm sure won't kill you:

Generally, the physician's aim is to reduce chances of litigation. In some cases, it may be medically justified, but in some, it will be medically inept. In a study conducted by Studdert, et al. in Pennsylvania among 800 physicians to determine the prevalence of defensive medicine revealed that 92% of physicians were found to be ordering imaging tests and diagnostic measures for assurance and 42% were eliminating high risk procedures and avoiding patients with complications.

Defensive Medicine: A Bane to Healthcare

 

[JoeB131]

Then you don't know many doctors. Unless you have the flu, an infection, a cough, you get referred to a specialist for everything else because of liability. These doctors can treat just about anything, but if something goes wrong, the first question out of a lawyers mouth is "why didn't you refer my client to a specialist?"

Well, why didn't he. Once he saw it was something more serious than a cough....

Generally, the physician's aim is to reduce chances of litigation. In some cases, it may be medically justified, but in some, it will be medically inept. In a study conducted by Studdert, et al. in Pennsylvania among 800 physicians to determine the prevalence of defensive medicine revealed that 92% of physicians were found to be ordering imaging tests and diagnostic measures for assurance and 42% were eliminating high risk procedures and avoiding patients with complications.

Again,not seeing the problem here... I think you want the doctor eliminating all possibilities...

Frankly, I've never been referred to a specialist without a darned good reason, but I had to fight my insurance company every step of the way to see them.

 

[theHawk]

'A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 85% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans support Medicare for all.

Why it matters: This single-payer system has divided the Democratic Party internally and gave Republicans a new way to attack Democrats in 2018. But this poll is the first to suggest that a majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle actually like this policy and that it could be a winning issue for candidates.

By the numbers: Two-thirds of Democratic nominees in 41 battleground House districts "want to expand the government’s role in healthcare," per Reuters.

• At least 70 House Democrats have joined the "Medicare for All" caucus, with more expected after the November midterms.
• And most House Dems support a Medicare for All bill, which has "six members of the Blue Dog caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats signing on as co-sponsors," Reuters notes.

Be smart: This policy is only going to get more attention as we head into the 2020 presidential election, when it will likely be a litmus test for Democratic candidates.'

Poll: Majority of Democrats and Republicans support Medicare for all

For better or worse - like it or not, sooner or later - it looks like single payer will become a fact of life in America.

For all taxpayers that pay into it. Not illegals or bottom-feeders.

 

[BlueGin]

Have you seen the quality of care they give people in ER's. It's pretty much "Make sure they don't die here."

I have, and it's pretty much "do everything possible to guard against a lawsuit." Then they proceed to run every test under the sun whether it's related to the injury or not.

They can't run every test possible. Medicare audits them and then charges penalties ( in the millions per year). Since they only allow less than the bare minimum.

That's not my experience but then again, I'm not on Medicare.

My experience is they run you through any and everything in effort to protect themselves from any accusation of incompetency. It's part of the problem of healthcare being unaffordable today. While most lawsuit fail, the cost for administrations to protect themselves is a fortune. It's no secret that insurance companies hire the best lawyers possible for that protection, and those people are likely doing better than six figures a year.

I agree about protecting themselves from lawsuits. Which is why they harp on you to sign paperwork about DNR from the second you show up until you leave.

I'm an older person so I can remember the days where you only went to one doctor most of the time. Today, doctors are merely referral agents of sorts. They want to pass off their liability to somebody else. So now, to get a problem solved, you don't see one doctor, you see two or three, and of course, this gets very expensive for government systems as well as private insurance.

Since you're in the industry, you know that years ago, you could never just go to a specialist. The insurance company would only allow that if your primary doctor refereed you to one. Today, they welcome going to a specialist first because they know that's all your family doctor is going to do anyway, and it saves them from paying that initial visit.

Unless they have a stipulation in place that they will only pay with a prior auth or referral in place. Very common with the VA,Medicare,Medicaid,IHS...anything government related.

A lot of times you can't even get. Blood pressure or other medication without submitting to more tests for a prescription to be re filled. Both via government or private insurance. I think that's dumb.

 

[BlueGin]

Yes. Medicare is a scam. Most things liberals support are.

No, the scam was letting old people buy insurance policies and medicare ends up covering them anyway.

Get rid of the scammers in big insurance.

Medicare does not cover "everything" . Infact they don't cover much. Which is why seniors pay for senior plans in the first place. How about you go research things before running your mouth?

 

[BlueGin]

Then you don't know many doctors. Unless you have the flu, an infection, a cough, you get referred to a specialist for everything else because of liability. These doctors can treat just about anything, but if something goes wrong, the first question out of a lawyers mouth is "why didn't you refer my client to a specialist?"

Well, why didn't he. Once he saw it was something more serious than a cough....

Generally, the physician's aim is to reduce chances of litigation. In some cases, it may be medically justified, but in some, it will be medically inept. In a study conducted by Studdert, et al. in Pennsylvania among 800 physicians to determine the prevalence of defensive medicine revealed that 92% of physicians were found to be ordering imaging tests and diagnostic measures for assurance and 42% were eliminating high risk procedures and avoiding patients with complications.

Again,not seeing the problem here... I think you want the doctor eliminating all possibilities...

Frankly, I've never been referred to a specialist without a darned good reason, but I had to fight my insurance company every step of the way to see them.

All you have to do is ask your doctor for a referral. Your insurance will honor it. You can't see a specialist without one unless you want to pay for it out of pocket.

 

[Mac1958]

While most lawsuit fail, the cost for administrations to protect themselves is a fortune. It's no secret that insurance companies hire the best lawyers possible for that protection, and those people are likely doing better than six figures a year.

There's a ridiculous amount of defensive medicine out there, as providers protect themselves with all kinds of unnecessary tests and procedures.

Some level of tort reform would have to be a part of any final plan.
.

 

[BlueGin]

My opinions are based specifically on significant training and many years of professional hands-on experience in this area, and not on partisan political ideology.

In other words, Stormy Mac makes money off of the system, so that makes itokay, even though the insurance companies are getting fat and providing inferior service.

Private sector insurance pays more. Used to be fairly cheap to buy too...until Obama screwed it up.

 

[JoeB131]

All you have to do is ask your doctor for a referral. Your insurance will honor it. You can't see a specialist without one unless you want to pay for it out of pocket.

Um, yeah, I had a wonderful 2 year fight with Cigna that says otherwise.

Abolish the insurance companies. I also wouldn't mind harvesting their executives for transplant organs, but that would be harsh.