How much would you be willing to pay per month for single payer?

[Ginto]

I could see paying 500$ a month for single payer.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. really?

will you adopt me?

[leftstreet]

2. I'm thinking of proposing!

:-)

[Ginto]

14. Already engaged. :) nt

[leftstreet]

16. ..

:cry:

[Ginto]

13. Too many dependents already. :) nt

[sinkingfeeling]

3. No more than $300 a month for one person.

[kick-ass-bob]

4. is that per person or family?

Because I pay that for the fam right now and have $1000 ded and 80% copay.

[mike_c]

5. up to the percentage of my taxes that currently supports the Pentagon and the MIC....

Health care costs should be paid through taxes. I'm good with up to the majority of my taxes that currently go to support the MIC, although in truth, I'd like to earmark some of that money for other social reforms as well.

[jpak]

6. I don't thnk they pay that much in Canada

I lived and worked there and payroll takeaways were not that high....

[Ginto]

15. When you figure in sales taxes, VAT taxes etc., I think the amount is higher. nt

[jpak]

24. That's not true - individuals pay provincial health care premiums through their employers

and prescription prices are a fraction of what we pay in the US.

The Canadian system is better and cheaper and more efficicent than the US system.

By

Far

[Ginto]

26. You're right.

I actually just learned a lot from snopes.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/canada.asp

I was just wondering what a person would be willing to pay in taxes for it. I said 500$ a month for me, but it will obviously vary.

[peace13]

7. Right now we pay $2400.00 a month for three people.

With the added bonus of that if one of us gets sick it can be canceled at the pleasure of the insurer. Go figure. Any amount less than the above with a clause that removes the fear of cancellation would be greatly appreciated!

[Barack_America]

43. .

:wow:

[HopeHoops]

8. What ever it is, I'm sure it is less than I'm paying now.

[bigdarryl]

9. I pay 20 dollars every two weeks for health care

[stray cat]

10. you are realistic - certainly per person maybe more for family

most people don't know what health care really costs

[Ginto]

17. I have friends who work in healthcare(not health insurance)

They tell me a lot about how costly a lot of it is so I think I have a pretty realistic picture.

[Ginto]

18. wrong place

[riderinthestorm]

11. My family currently pays $1200/month for my husband alone (serious PEC).

with a $10,000 deductible, $40/visit co-pay, and no drug prescription coverage at all BCBS). Consequently there's nothing left in the budget for me. My 14 yr old daughter's on SChip and we pay $110/month for her. My 23 year old's policy is $198/month. So total bill for health insurance for my family? $1500/month and I'm not even covered.

So, basically, ANYTHING less than that, especially if it also gets me health care.

[JuniperLea]

12. It would be pre-tax, so you'd save about 30% of that cost right off the bat...

And if you are looking at the taxes you pay, compared to the taxed Canada or Norway or the taxes of any other country with socialized medicine, you have to figure in what you are paying toward health insurance.

[Ginto]

19. Who knew that Snopes had so much info?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/canada.asp

[SoCalDem]

20. Single payer should be part of the TAXES people pay...not a lump sum "premium"

Of course a vital part of any switchover would have to be rolling what is currently paid for by the employee AND the employER into the WAGES of the employee, and THEN figuring the additional taxation that would be for health-care.

The beauty of a true national health care system, is that people go to the doctor when they need to, and pay nothing EXTRA out-of-pocket when they go.

The health care is a BENEFIT for them that comes from their TAXES paid.

This is what sends shivers down the spines of health-INSURANCE companies. Negpotiaging with ONE client ...Uncle Sam...means that they can no longer cherry-pick to find their favorite types of "customers".

The whole country becomes a de facto UNION, with Uncle Sam as our union rep, and the monthly "payments" to insurors..well it goes away.

It also turns a paycheck into something more real, since the employee would no longer be paying a weekly co-pay with employers paying extra for each employee..

It would take a LOT of people out of the workforce too, which would increase opportunities for workers coming into the workforce. Many people could finally retire, and others could finally afford to start their own businesses, once freed from the exorbitant costs of self-insuring.

Employers would also be able to retain "expensive" workers because those workers would no longer drive UP the cost of insurance.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

21. +1

yes.

[Ginto]

22. Exactly. Maybe I worded my question poorly.

I meant how much would you agree to pay in taxes for single payer?

[SoCalDem]

25. It would be a part of my taxes, so it would be dependent upon how much I made in income

That's the beauty of such a system.. We don't dissect our tax bill based roads in NC, an artificial limb for some soldier, or what my share of some nuke somewhere, is..

It would be folded into our taxes , and since our INCOMES would rise, our take home would as well, since the cost goes down once everyone is under the same umbrella:)

[Ginto]

27. I think I was trying to get opinions on current income.

Somebody below said 10% of gross. I think that would be pretty reasonable, but everybody is going to vary. :)

[SoCalDem]

33. This is why it's so hard to quantify

I read up on Denmark's system a while back, and of course their income taxes are about 50% of their income, but they are (were) the "happiest people" on earth according to an annual poll.

When people were asked why they were not angry to be "losing" so much of their income, they could not understand why they should be angry. One young man's comment summed it up.

nothing out of pocket for:

education through phd level
medical of any kind
medicine of any kind
4-6 wks of paid holiday
1 yr paid maternity leave for both parents
child care once Mom & Dad return to work
union wages for most jobs
unemployment compensation as long as one is unemployed
pensions for the aged
housing subsidies
accessible & good public transportation.

This pretty much frees up all take home income for whatever they want to spend it on.

[Ginto]

37. Figured out where I'm going to try to emigrate to!

I would seriously have 6 kids. Always wanted a big family, but nearly impossible to do in the US.

[tapper]

23. Right now, $0

but only because I'm unemployed.

When employed, I'd gladly pay up to 10% of my gross income, (split 50/50 between me and the employer), plus minimal copays, and no deductible.

I used 10% as a ballpark figure, assuming that the current Medicare tax would need to be sharply increased for a Medicare-for-all approach (with fixes to current setup).

I'd gladly pay a generous chunk of my wage income, just to have peace of mind when unemployed.

[Lucy Goosey]

28. In 2008, the average Canadian paid $4079(US) for the year...

...about $340 per month, through our taxes. Obviously there is a big range, because the tax system is progressive - the rich pay more, the poor pay less.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/33/38979719.pdf

That includes some private sector payment, too. I pay $12 per month through my employer for supplemental insurance, which covers 80% things like prescriptions, physiotherapy, psychological services, dental, prescription glasses or contacts, massage therapy, prosthetic limbs, corrective orthopedic shoes, wheelchairs etc. - pretty much anything a doctor says you need. It also includes travel health insurance, which covers us 100% for any medical emergencies abroad. Most big Canadian employers have something similar, though many pay more for the coverage - I'm in a good union :D.

I'm happy with the amount I pay and the services I get in return.

[Ginto]

31. Thanks. This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

Do you know how much my gross income would be if I was paying 340$ per month?

[MilesColtrane]

29. Norway has it right.

8-11% of your wages covers physical and mental health for all and dental health for children under the age of 16.

Hospitals are free and doctor visit fees are capped at a fairly low rate. Medicine is market price, but people needing the medicine more than three months a year, gets prescription with high discount. There is also a yearly cap for people with high medical expenses.

This tax covers not only health care but also loss of income during sick leave, public pension, unemployment benefits, benefits for single parents and a few others.

[GSLevel9]

30. way too much!

$500 per month can get a pretty decent private insurance plan for a family of 3.

I'd pay $100 a month.

[Edweird]

32. What is costs. As I recall it costs about 1/3 of what we're paying now per capita.

[uncommon]

34. I would be happy to pay what I am currently paying for my insurance -

it's $240 per month for just me. I think 60/week should cover my very occasional use of the doctor and I'm glad to have it going into a pool so that everyone can get medical care.

[TheKentuckian]

35. 10% seems like a conversation starter area.

I figure less for lower income ranges.

Somebody can check but I figure for the Bush tax cuts we could be cooking.

Imagine Clinton era taxes including your medical.

[TheBigotBasher]

36. UK has 11% National Insurance to pay for the NHS

effectively an 11% income tax on wage incomes above £6k ($10k)

[Ginto]

38. Seems very sensible. nt

[SargeUNN]

39. sorry but we won't get any action on HCR for a time because

are now in a position instead of being able to further the reform we got, we are going to have to defend what we did get. We didn't get our voters out for whatever reason and now the right is going to try to repeal what we did get accomplished. We will be able to keep what we accomplished but by not accepting what we got and instead getting a chance to improve on it, we are now stuck trying to keep it.

[MilesColtrane]

42. As long as Obama can find his veto pen and his cajones the Republicans...

shouldn't be able to roll back any part of it. The House doesn't have enough votes to override a veto.

The Pres knew that he had to get whatever progress he could as quick as he could, because another election is always just two years away.

[hunter]

40. $1000 / month would be less than what my wife and I pay now.

And that's for crap insurance with a high deductible that will leave us bankrupt and uninsured should our health and "preexisting conditions" take a turn for the worse before we reach retirement age.

I'd happily pay a thousand dollars a month for Single Payer and the pleasure of watching the &#%$*%^%$ U.S. health insurance industry die.

[Blue_In_AK]

41. We currently pay $800 a month for our insurance premium.

I would happily contribute that much for single-payer.

[TBF]

44. Should depend upon income.

We're paying around $1,000. per month now before deductibles and co-pays.