Breitbart: First Obamacare, Then a Single Payer System

[eridani]

Time for Satan to start looking through heating catalogs?

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/27/First-ObamaCare-Then-a-Single-Payer-System

Republicans must live with Obamacare. They have few prospects for electing 60 senators needed to repeal the law, and unless they work to make it more palatable--something they have few ideas to accomplish--the nation is headed for socialized medicine.

The burden to find solutions will take congress to places that Republicans are very reluctant to go.

The German and other European systems accomplish lower costs and universal coverage by imposing tight controls on prices for services, drugs, and devices. Britain's National Health Service doesn?t bother with insurance companies and claims forms--by eliminating insurance company overhead it accomplishes much lower costs than even the German system.

Even before Obamacare, federal and state governments, through Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs, paid more than 50 percent of U.S. health care bills. That was more than the 9 percent of GDP, and the amount Britain spends to accomplish universal coverage ? without the additional $4,600 per person American businesses and individuals pony up.

Reducing U.S. doctors fees and drug and device prices down to German levels won't be easy or likely possible, but politicians, providers, and businesses still providing health insurance will need a solution--likely a scapegoat.

Enter the insurance companies that have been screwing down doctor's fees, hassling everyone with mindless paperwork, and paying executives like royalty.

The federal government could probably pay doctors, drug companies, and device manufactures pretty reasonably directly, and without the insurance company middlemen, through an American National Health Service.

(Peter Morici is an economist and professor at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, and a widely published columnist.)

Comment by Don McCanne of PNHP: Professor Peter Morici, an expert on international trade, is known for holding no punches. Here he suggests that Republican intransigence could lead us to an American National Health Service--true socialized medicine.

In the full article, available at the link above, he explains why Obamacare is unsatisfactory, likely with the intent of cajoling Republicans into working with Democrats to improve it. He seems to be using the prospect of a national health service as a threat to Republicans as to what could happen if they failed to cooperate. In doing so, he does present some very persuasive arguments for making the change.

Maybe he's serious. He does make private insurance companies the scapegoat. Get rid of them and then what options do we really have?

[sendero]

1. Both sides of the aisle..

... have claimed that the ACA is a stepping stone to single payer.

I personally don't think that was ever the intention of those who created the law. However, if using it as bludgeon saying "either we make this work or it is single payer" works for me.

Our unique "name your price" health care system, where providers simply name a price and they get it, is unsustainable.

[Eleanors38]

2. Uh, yeah, Britefart. Got it now?

[Laelth]

3. My hope is that the ACA will kill most private insurance companies.

I want them reduced to selling cadillac plans to the wealthy. They are nothing more than vampiric middle-men. Let their former employees work for the government managing a national health-care payment system.

-Laelth

[eridani]

5. Don't think so. Single payer will have to be the final blow

Fortunately ACA offers states the ability to do state single payer starting in 2017.

[Bigmack]

4. Speaking of Satan....

If notsoBreitbart says it....

From Satan's lips to God's ear...

We need single payer.

[hedda_foil]

6. it takes a 2/3 vote of both houses of congress and the president's signature to repeal a law.

Though I sincerely doubt that any of the teabagger in Congress are aware of that fact.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

7. I thought Breitbart was dead.

Died stewing in his own bile.

[eridani]

8. His winger website lives on n/t