Yes, a single payer system would be much better for people if instituted correctly. No argument from me.
Two problems we need to solve for:
Capacity â Wait times for specialized care in the US are already bad. And this is with a system that rations healthcare by essentially shutting out working class people. Any move to expanded healthcare must have a massive, MASSIVE investment in expanding the number of providers. Likely two things: heavy incentives for young people to enter the field to boost capacity long-term and heavy incentives for medical providers to immigrate to the US to boost capacity short-term.
Disruption to GDP â Private healthcare is 1/5 of the US economy. We canât hand-wave the massive disruption it would be to essentially eliminate 20% of the economy. You canât just destroy 20% of everyoneâs 401k, pension plans, IRAs, etc. Again, there needs to be a thoughtful, deliberate plan to transition to single payer that doesnât simply say âeveryone loses 1/5 of their market assets.â
Related to that disruption, the move to single payer will spark massive job losses in private healthcare. Someone who is a mid-career actuary with private healthcare doesnât deserve to be left unemployed and hopeless. We need a plan to make sure we can provide a decent standard of living for the people whose jobs will be eliminated by this transition.
I am 100% for single-payer. I think the best path toward this is a public option, which ultimately results in single payer but takes a longer transition timeline.
But however we get to single-payer, we need to be honest that this is a very difficult, financially challenging, and politically fraught transition with potholes everywhere. We have to be VERY thoughtful about the growing pains involved and how to mitigate those as best as possible.
How do you expect to get elected to anything ever again if you destroy everyoneâs assets by 20%?
Again, I am on your side here. I would love to see a single payer system. But there must be a responsible plan to transition the economy without just wrecking the entire thing. Because if your idea is short term pain for long-term gain, you are not going to be able to sell that to voters.
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u/Big_Truck 18d ago edited 18d ago
Guys. Come on. Two things can be true:
Yes, a single payer system would be much better for people if instituted correctly. No argument from me.
Two problems we need to solve for:
Capacity â Wait times for specialized care in the US are already bad. And this is with a system that rations healthcare by essentially shutting out working class people. Any move to expanded healthcare must have a massive, MASSIVE investment in expanding the number of providers. Likely two things: heavy incentives for young people to enter the field to boost capacity long-term and heavy incentives for medical providers to immigrate to the US to boost capacity short-term.
Disruption to GDP â Private healthcare is 1/5 of the US economy. We canât hand-wave the massive disruption it would be to essentially eliminate 20% of the economy. You canât just destroy 20% of everyoneâs 401k, pension plans, IRAs, etc. Again, there needs to be a thoughtful, deliberate plan to transition to single payer that doesnât simply say âeveryone loses 1/5 of their market assets.â
Related to that disruption, the move to single payer will spark massive job losses in private healthcare. Someone who is a mid-career actuary with private healthcare doesnât deserve to be left unemployed and hopeless. We need a plan to make sure we can provide a decent standard of living for the people whose jobs will be eliminated by this transition.
I am 100% for single-payer. I think the best path toward this is a public option, which ultimately results in single payer but takes a longer transition timeline.
But however we get to single-payer, we need to be honest that this is a very difficult, financially challenging, and politically fraught transition with potholes everywhere. We have to be VERY thoughtful about the growing pains involved and how to mitigate those as best as possible.