Progressive Values, Part 2: Universal Health Care

In the first post of this series, I outlined what a progressive tax system should look like.  I mentioned that fairly taxing the richest individuals and corporations among us would raise a lot of money for the US government.  One thing that this money should be spent on is a Universal Health Care or Medicare For All program.

Warning: This post is going to be intense!  If you get confused, just remember that health insurance companies are like fictional character Gordon Gecko in Wall Street (great movie, by the way):


 Gordon Gecko would argue that having private companies offer health insurance policies, is the best health care system.  That is what the US currently has.  Let's see how that's working for us:

• Despite spending more than twice as much as other industrialized nations at over $8,000 per person, the US ranks poorly in life expectancy and other health measures.
• Despite Obama's Health Care law, 23 million people remain uninsured.  
• Our health care system kills 45,000 people a year because they can't get insurance.

Not so good huh?  There are 2 main reasons why this happens:

1. The incentives for an insurance company are fucked up.  Health Insurance companies make money not by having a superior product, but by denying health care to sick people.  These companies cite all sorts of made-up reasons for denying care in the name of greed, such as not covering pre-existing conditions or experimental treatments.
2. The administrative cost of having hundreds of different insurance companies (whether for profit or nonprofit) is huge.  One study found that wasteful administrative costs consume 31% of US health expenditures.  Medicare operates with around 3% overhead - about 10 times less than private companies.

The solution to this problem is Medicare For All!  This program would use the additional money raised from fair income and corporate taxes to enroll all US citizens in the Medicare program.  To me, there are two main reasons we should do this:

The first and most important reason why we should have Medicare for All is moral values.  Our health care system is killing 45,000 people a year.  That's over 15 September 11ths PER YEAR.  The US is one of the richest countries in the world - we can do better than that.  When you get robbed, the cops don't check if you've paid your "police premiums".  When there is a fire in your house, fire fighters do not look to see if your house had a pre-existing condition.  The Police and Fire Departments protect you, no matter how rich or poor you are.  You should have a right to health care just like you have a right to protection from criminals and fires.

The second reason is economics and efficiency.  The US Government could negotiate much better prices for drugs in bulk than individual insurers, bringing costs way down.  With the money saved from reducing administrative waste, the United States could cover every citizen for the amount of money we are currently paying for health insurance.  In addition, a single-payer health care system is actually good for business.  

One of the largest burdens that US Companies have is paying for health insurance for their employees.  Freed from this, American companies would be able to better compete globally and create more jobs.  Also, universal health care would end health-cost related bankruptcies, which currently contribute to half of all personal bankruptcies.  Combined, these effects would be a huge stimulus to the US economy!

Questions? Comments?  Leave a comment below.  Be sure to keep checking in, I'll try to have another Progressive Values post up sometime next week, and some other posts too.

-Cy

PS: Most universal health care advocates talk about a "single-payer" system.  I prefer the term "Medicare for All" because most people know what Medicare is.  I don't think people understand what single-payer means, which makes it easy for FOX news and assorted idiots to brand it as "Socialized Medicine", which it is NOT. Socialized medicine would be if the government owned all hospitals, clinics, etc.  Under medicare, hospitals, doctors are privately owned, and the government acts as a giant insurance company.

PPS: The argument for a universal health care system MUST include a moral component, because otherwise you will be arguing with facts against someone who is arguing morals.  If I say, "A single payer health care system saves the government $400 billion", and Gordon Gecko replies with "Some people will pay for other people's care, and that's not right!", Gordon Gecko wins every time!  But if I say "It's not right, and it's not fair that people can't afford coverage, and people who have insurance still can't get care, all because of corporate greed!" then at least I have a shot in the debate.