Reply #68: Your post is very confusing . . . [View All]

[NavajoRug]

. . . because you've made a strong argument in support of what I've been saying. Medicare and Medicaid are the closest things this country has to a single-payer system, and they're on the verge of collapse due to the inherent weakness of a single-payer system in this country -- WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD THE QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE THAT WE WANT TO HAVE. Medicare is being destroyed because it is a demographic house of cards that can't survive. Medicaid is being destroyed because the number of "recipients" is grossly out of balance with the number of "donors" (taxpayers).

"Why wouldn't you want all your employees covered with health care by a single payer? If I was a business owner, this would be a welcome thing and one less thing that I would have to worry about."

I agree. What I don't want is: 1) to have all my employees covered by a single-payer system that I myself would be forced to use; and 2) to have all my employees covered by a single-payer system that my company would have control over but would be forced to support financially.

I have said for years that the best thing we could do in this country to "fix" our health care system is to get rid of this silly, outdated idea that employers should pay the cost of medical insurance for their employees. I don't pay the mortgage or rent on my employees' homes, nor do I make their car payments.