I haven't posted here in a while, but I found an article that tickled my political bone:
http://www.ibamag.com/business-news/berniecare-highlights-why-america-cant-be-like-europe-27794.aspx
Read the article, tell me what you think in the comments. Here's my critique:
>Per-capita taxes aren't inordinately higher in Europe than in the U.S. (the U.S.'s $14,202 is about the same as the U.K.'s but $3,000 less than what Germans pay
This directly conflicts with the $10,000 figure mentioned later in the article. Was this article written out of someone’s rear? Or are the tax figures mentioned here inclusive of something other than healthcare? If so, why not point that out instead of putting it in the context of healthcare spending?
>...reducing patient choices on diagnostic tests, new technologies, expensive drugs and costly procedures such as hip and knee replacements to what their governments define as "medically necessary."
Vague description of what is and isn’t covered, followed by subtle intimidation that a mysterious group of people are making decisions for you without your input.
>Rationing
Way to force recall of images of World War II and famine. Yet, Americans were doing their civic duty to ration then. How is taking care of others different?
>The U.S. spends about $3 trillion a year on health care, or about $10,000 a person.
Here’s that conflicting figure. Is it $10K or $14.2K? If $14.2K is the “16.4%” mentioned above, $10K is a lot closer to that 8.9% spent by the 34 OECD countries mentioned.
>...getting rid of third-party claims processing
Ok, well that will kill jobs. But is this claim of Sanders’ claim legitimate, or is the article putting words into Sanders’ mouth to frighten you?
>...need for insurers to make a profit
Libertarian reaction zone. Watch out for pitchforks.
>...hospitals and doctors would have to accept far less in reimbursements
Hospitals and doctors ALREADY accept less from patients than they would insurers. Insurance negotiations with the hospital are always going to be less than what the Hospital bills – requiring the hospital to ask for a ton more money from the insurer just to break even.
>...fighting the federal government to approve the procedures they want to have and the specialists they want to see.
Free Market at work: You government covers the basics. If you want something cosmetic or unnecessary, you are free to find a private insurer. This is what they do in Europe.
>...the ability to see specialist doctors when they want...
You can do this privately.
>...obtain second and third opinions...
You can do this privately.
>have aging body parts replaced
First world problems. Death is a part of life, and no health care in the world will prevent that. Stop claiming victimhood where nature treads.
>Sanders also proposes major tax increases on people earning more than $250,000 a year
Just how many people is this, really?
>...for those earning more than $10 million a year
And how many people is this?
>cut 15 percentage points off the value of deductions for mortgage interest
If you give to charity specifically to avoid paying taxes, you’re an indecent person, to say the least.
>...raise individual taxes by $450 billion a year
Imagine a world of schools, roads, and infrastructure improvements we could do with approx. 75% of the [defense budget?](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-us-military-spends-its-billions-2015-8)
>...new 2.2 percent payroll tax on top of existing payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare and a new one Sanders previously proposed to provide family and medical leave with pay. But the $450 billion figure doesn't count a 6.2 percent payroll tax that employers would pay and pass along in the form of lower wages and higher consumer prices
If this means that I don’t have to fill out a ton of paperwork for a broken arm, avoid ridiculous deductible fees, copays, and the inevitable bill from the provider where my current insurance provider decides to stop coverage $20 shy of the total, it’s well worth the extra expense to buy stuff.
>In the end, many individuals would see rates above 70 percent once state and payroll taxes are included
These “many individuals” are the ones making more than $250,000 a year, remember.
>Most economists agree that very high rates of taxation cause economic distortions
Ignoring the "most economists" generalization, are we referring to distortions like the UNPRECENDENTED affluence of the middle class during the late 40’s, 50’s and 60’s? Yeah, let’s make sure people never own houses or land again.
>...discouraging risk-taking and job creation
Jobs are not created by entrepreneurs, merely opportunities for them. Jobs are created by demands from customers. However, I would like to see more about how these payroll tax increases will impact mom-and-pop shops.
>But Americans have never warmed to VAT systems
That doesn’t mean they won’t or can’t, and it doesn’t mean ‘never’ in the future. Just ‘so far’.
>11 million are undocumented immigrants who are excluded from Obamacare and another 2 million are incarcerated
No mention of the costs incurred to keep them here in the first place. Can someone give a shoutout about healthcare in jails/prisons for undocumented immigrants? Are there any projections on how this healthcare plan could impact incarceration rates? Additionally, healthy immigrants, even if undocumented, mean they pose fewer health threats to a healthy population.
>...reduced freedom of choice ...
Your private insurance already limits what you can and cannot do with your coverage. Your freedom of choice is far more severe in this case than with single-payer.
>...tax increases...
Offset by no monthly insurance payment, no co-pays, and no deductibles...
>...transfers to undocumented immigrants...
Who will be healthier and less likely to spread communicable diseases to others. Just like the rest of us will be.
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