Hillary is right on health care. Keep Obamacare and improve it.

[Dawson Leery]

Colorado is going to apply for a waiver and attempt to implement a single payer system.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/19/458688605/coloradans-will-put-single-payer-health-care-to-a-vote

State by state. Democrats must win at the state level and bring in single payer this way.
You are not going to get everything you want at once. There will be massive pushback, there always is.

[Yupy]

1. Keep it??? With $6,000 deductables? What a joke! Go Bernie!

[stonecutter357]

3. thanks for stepping up for Hillary.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Thanks for the kick!

[napi21]

6. I agree with Bernie on this one. My son & his wife ran into the "deductible disaster"

because he has been working as a contractor repairing airplanes and his wife is working part time for FedEx, neither of which provide ins. They are both in their forties, and very healthy. He researched all the ins. options he could find, and the best he found cost $800/mo. with a $5000 deductible for each of them. He opted for some different kind of coverage which I didn't really understand but it's $400+ a month and $100 deductible. I asked him what he was losing with this plan v/s one from Obamacare and he said it didn't cover pregnancy(no prob for them) and he may have to pay a fine for having a policy that doesn't comply with Obamacare rules because of the no pregnancy coverage.

We are both on Medicare and also have a supplement policy. If what we have could be offered to EVERYONE I think people would be happy and that's what I understand that Bernie is promoting.

I'm really torn between Bernie & Hillary right now. I only have till March 1st to decide.

[OKNancy]

7. single payer is a wonderful idea. The problem is it will never happen

at least in the near future. We have to make Obamacare better in the short term.
For me, that means Hillary. Sanders could never work with Congress the way she can.

Oh and I agree... some of the lower cost policies through the exchange are useless.
Especially if you are older. Young people get the breaks, but the insurance companies really stick it to the over 55 group.

[Cha]

9. I agree with Hillary.. she's the one who's going to get it done. They couldn't even implement

single payer in Vermont.

[Cha]

8. Sorry, you have no idea what you're talking.. Obamacare has helped so many people in Life and Death

situations. Of course Hillary will only improve on the strong foundation that President Obama got implemented.

[riversedge]

2. thanks

[stonecutter357]

4. K&R!

[Sancho]

10. Many Bernie fans don't get the point! Bernie (so far) turns things over to the states.

If you have Rick Scott or Scott Walker as a governor - you're doomed.

There's no way to call "medicare for all" a single-payer system if you turn it over to the states. If it's a federal program, then you have to figure out how to pay for it: income taxes, sales taxes, payroll deduction, etc.??? Bernie doesn't have a plan except we know his previous proposals won't work. Most plans that Bernie would propose would be another regressive hit on the working people. States won't cooperate with single payer.

Even Medicaid (paid for by the federal government) is refused by GOP governors!

In Canada, universal health care started in one state (province) and spread. Hillary and Obama both know that sooner or later some states will have a "public option" that will compete with insurance companies and will prove to be cheaper to run than private insurance. It may be an expansion of Medicaid/Medicare - but however it happens it will lead to more and more people chasing that option.

Think about homeowners flood insurance - the only deal in town now is the federal program. It really doesn't matter who administers the program.

Bernie doesn't have a reasonable single payer proposal that deals with states.
Bernie can't pay for health care without regressive taxation.
If you dismantle the ACA, the repubs will get rid of all the current progress.
If you keep going the way we are now, sooner or later public options will show up - and eventually lead to universal coverage.
If you keep going with the ACA, you may see continued expansion of Medicaid.
Right now, large employers pick up the costs! Profits are capped or returned. In a few years, everyone will be covered!

Something people haven't thought about....using ERs hides the 10-30 million undocumented Americans. It allows employers to cheat people. When 100% have work provided health insurance - it is one more way to force employers to stop exploiting the undocumented and create a path to citizenship!!

[Dawson Leery]

13. Vermont is giving up on single payer as it costs too much:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511012215

"For decades, liberal activists yearned for a European-style, single-payer health system that they argued would lead to more affordable, efficient, and comprehensive medical coverage for all citizens. When Vermont four years ago enacted a landmark bill to establish the nation’s first single-payer health care system, they saw their long-sought dream about to be fulfilled.

But reality hit last month. Governor Peter Shumlin released a financial report that showed the cost of the program would nearly double the size of the state’s budget in the first year alone and require large tax increases for residents and businesses. Shumlin, a Democrat and long-time single-payer advocate, said he would not seek funding for the law, effectively tabling the program called Green Mountain Care.

“In my judgment, now is not the time to ask our Legislature to take the step of passing a financing plan for Green Mountain Care,’’ Shumlin said. "

[yallerdawg]

11. First, we muddle throught the Affordable Care Act.

When the people understand the unnecessary expense of for-profit insurance and the outrageous profiteering of private-sector health care, the people will begin to understand why most countries spend less money than us.

Medicare has a capped profit margin and delivers the best, least expensive outcomes for the unhealthiest, most uninsurable segment of America.

Hillary is well aware of all this. She is also well aware of the possible. America is just not ready.

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. K&R!