This is the Thread to catalog Universal Health Care SAVINGS!

[Gman2]

With Universal Health Care, we could reform vast stretches of our employment landscape. Employers could get out of the business of benefits. This would level the playing field for the little and the huge business. They would be allowed to carry negligence insurance, that would cover only civil lawsuits. This could be quite low, if you were careful. It would be great incentive to provide a safe work environment. It would eliminate the bias against age, or even sex. To a degree.

Early detection of disease will pay dividends in persons living healthier lives longer. It will also provide for greater productivity, both short and long term. I even believe that so many being at a treatable stage of disease, will boost breakthroughs tenfold. The emergency rooms will be able to scale way back. Our fire and rescue can scale back.

Disability claims will diminish. Again from early detection. Not to mention better precitizen care{babies}.

Productivity will increase because noone will be stuck in a job to sustain coverage.

Long term productivity will increase because the children, raised in good health, if they are fed well and educated, will provide a solid base with which to progress, if that is possible.



I know my list is preliminary and kinda philosophical, but others can add to it with particulars.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Health Care Itself Will Drop In Price

The US spends 50%-200% more for health care per person compared to any other industrialized country. We're also the only industrialized country that does not have universal health care and something like single-payer.

Thus, unless Americans are uniquely incompetent, we can expect to save 30% or more by implementing universal single-payer health care.

All the other savings are icing on the cake.

[JimWis]

2. An excellent preliminary list.

[unpossibles]

3. not to mention that if people did not rely on their job for insurance

they could either work a variety of part time jobs to pursue their dream jobs more. In other words, if someone wanted to, they could freelance or be an entrepreneur and have a PT job on the side for a more regular check until it took off.

And as someone who worked in food service for over a decade mostly without insurance, let me say that the morale of the average service industry person would increase, resulting in higher quality workers possibly.

I won't go into the fear that we now have of being actually diagnosed with some 'preexisting condition' which would affect ability to even get coverage....



Then again, the cynic in me wonders if all of that is well known and they want most of us to be miserable peons tied to a job and begging for scraps. When the conservative freemarketbots whine about how much it will cost, how come more people do not point out that every other country pays far less for fr better coverage; that most of us (not running Big Pharm) would actually benefit from the savings.

[valerief]

4. But what about the extortionists? I mean, the boards of insurance companies?

What will they have to give up?

:sarcasm:

[Gman2]

5. They'll be unemployed, like the rest of us, But they'll be covered!

[reggie the dog]

11. the worker bees

will find work in the new government health insurance. You still need people to process claims, pay out benefits etc.

[John Q. Citizen]

6. do you mean single payer or do you mean manditory insurance purchse?

[Oregone]

7. sad you gotta asked these days

[Gman2]

8. Till I see some logic to this mandatory thing, it makes no sense

But that is not to say that it couldnt.

[John Q. Citizen]

9. it makes no sense to me at all. It seems there is an easy way to do this and a hard way to do it.

The easy way is through taxes and everyone is covered and no more maze of insurance companies and overlapping government programs, just a set of benefits we pay for through our income.

And the hard way is maaking people use a primeum based system with deductibles and means testing and all that other shit.

I mean bush just said, hey we are going to for for a bunch of bullshit and the whole congress save a few said, "sure why not"

This is stupid

[Festivito]

10. The UNACCOUNTED cost of incarcerating mentally ill.

Someone needs meds. Shakes his baby. Now the baby is dead, and he faces decades in prison where we pay his meals and meds while he does nothing productive through his productive years.

That's not included in the last I saw $8,160 per American per year that could be as low as $3,000 per person per year under single payer / universal health care where everyone is covered for everything and you choose your doctor.

Less expensive, more benefits, not nearly as crazy.

[John Q. Citizen]

12. Ok single payer. Car insurance in half, work mans comp almost nothing, mal pracratice much lower

(no life time of health care for people badly screwed up) lower liability costs for all kinds of insurance lower tuition cause no health fees, lower city county and state costs cause no insurance for employees, better test score in school because things like eyss and hearing caught early, lower cost through prevention.

[stray cat]

13. I really want to see actual numbers of expense and savings - right now I see dreams

that I hope are right but that I question without a rigourous examination of real expenses. Health care will not all of a sudden become a bargain. It really does cost money and people have to pay for it. I pay $8000 a year for a single employee's health care - thats probably cheap.

[mopinko]

14. and the cost of taking care of those uninsured right now will be huge.

people will be coming out of the woodwork, needing care for serious illnesses. in the long run preventative care will make things cheaper, but even that i wonder about. the longer you live, the more healthcare you are likely to use.
people need to get a lot more realistic here. we are talking about a boat load of money.

[Gman2]

15. human lifespan is generally set. You just choose what you die from.

As a great comedian said, soon medical technology will be so good, that we will die of absolutely fucking nothing. Good medical care will allow us to work harder longer, and enjoy it.

[Gman2]

16. I forgot to mention, if you have to declare bankruptcy, it costs huge sums

The climb out, by a family that has been devastated by an illness, like myself, costs FAR more than anyone realizes. With the lost productivity of the whole family, and the social safety net payments, such as they are, add up. To keep whole families solvent, and productive, during an illness, completey aside from purely medical perspective, can only improve all prognosi's.