Listening to Bernie Sander’s claim that studies prove his Medicare for All health care proposals will lower health care is an interesting case study in how to mislead the public with “potentially true” statements.
I say potentially true, because he does not address why his proposals can potentially lower health care costs in America or why his statement is misleading the American public.
For example, would it change people’s ideas about Medicare for All, if someone challenged Bernie Sanders to show how his Medicare for All plan would save the nation money versus keeping today’s health care system intact with no changes other than Federal legislation giving every health care consumer access to “Medicare” pricing.
In other words, underlying Bernie Sander’s whole argument that Medicare for All is cheaper is the argument lower prices tend to lead to lower costs… duh… no clue, Bernie…
But Bernie is as much about government control of health care as he is about lowering costs to consumers… once government has control there is no way to compare costs and performance…
So if we want the savings, Bernie is promising, rather than turn our whole tax system upside down and our whole health care financing system upside down… simply pass a law that says no health care provider can charge more than the Medicare allowable rate for a product or service.
Done… okay let’s solve the next problem…
How about universal health care… first, the problem just got a lot smaller with more affordable health insurance… second, a few targeted tweaks to the subsidies to low wage earners could extend affordable health care coverage to almost everyone… with one exception…
What’s left?
Convince those 14 states that have not yet joined expanded Medicaid for the working poor and virtually all Americans will have access to affordable health care. At a lower cost to consumers and taxpayers… Alternatively, let the states show alternative options (some have them) to insure universal access…
Done…
Isn’t America far more likely to buy into keeping their health insurance except that it costs less, then changing the whole system upside down and creating a massive tax and entitlement program if they had a choice… Bernie’s approach don’t let them consider a choice… make it his way or the current way?
We already subsidize low income workers and those with preexisting conditions with lower prices for health care products and services, government subsidies that had been going to low income workers would be reduced and so available to pay additional subsidies for which the current subsidies are determined to be inadequate…
Less for health care and Americans get access to health care who do not already have it and almost no consumer of health care experiences a change…
Quick note as to my qualifications on the subject…
For background purposes my career was in health care including being the CFO of one of the largest Medicare and Medicaid fiscal intermediaries, an executive of what is today known as Wellpoint/Anthem and an executive and in some instances co-founder of various provider organizations…
