My reader replies concerning state-based single payer health systems:
It’s all about political will in this case. There’s really no shortage of money, considering how much we waste/spend in other ways. So I believe I’m correct when I say will/way.
I’m also of the mind that the cost, for example, in California would double the state budget. Recall that the point is not just simply cover everyone at today’s exorbitant, extractive insurance rates but rather provide a reasonable base level health care at a more reasonable cost — as well as drive down the cost of delivering health care in general. And note that Medicare has a much lower operating overhead than any private insurance company out there. And I’d never claim Medicare as being a model of efficiency.
There should be significant “cost savings” — money spent in other ways — by providing such universal coverage. They may not materialize in the first 6, 12 or 18 months, and getting to point where they start becoming significant will be a challenge to a state’s revenue/spending balance. But I’m fairly sure that on the whole, covering everyone through single payer will be significantly than what’s spent on health insurance and health care today.
I assume the missing word in the last sentence is “… be significantly less than …”, and I hope that such coverage would be less than the inefficient private market. As one example, lighter use of emergency rooms because folks are getting regular medical checkups would ease the financial burdens which we were having to shoulder prior to the implementation of the ACA.
Unfortunately, as my reader and I share at least some of the same views, it tends to be a monoculture. I am aware of the free market concerns brought up by opponents, as well as concerns which are not as immediate, such as questions of how a single payer system would affect the development of new drugs. It’s a legitimate concern, although in the current market, the worries about development of new anti-bacterials as well as the manufacture of snake anti-venom suggests certain failure as well. But, having dropped my readings in libertarianism several years ago, I don’t know what sort of objections are being raised these days.
