Reply #8: Recent convert to Universal Single Payer [View All]

[exboyfil]

The explanation I have heard, which fits into your theory, is that businesses use employer based health care as a recruiting tool. If you look at the collorary of that statement, then it is a control mechanism for current workers.

Lack of portability for both pensions and health care are drags on economic mobility. The Germans have universal care with 15% of their income, and I would like to see a study on why we can't achieve that level as well (we are currently running at approximately 24% of our income when private and public expenditures are included). I am a relatively highly compensated worker with my employer (I an an engineer with two masters and 20+ years work experience), and they tell me my insurance costs 14% of my salary (that 14% includes historic high bonuses that will be going away as this recession takes off so the revised amount could be up to 16%)). A comparable federal plan (high deductible etc.) is within $2K in price. The union gets much better insurance than I do, and I have to think their plans must cost over 20% of their salary.

Ideally, if we could match the Germans performance, all employers could go to a withholding type system at 15% of our salary. For that we could relieve the 45% already spent in the public sector (ie tax reductions or deficit reductions) and have a single payer system. The transition for an employer like mine will be easy since it appears they already spend at least that amount already. They should be jumping up and down for the opportunity. For me to go into the Federal plan that is like mine (ie the same insurance that the Senators get) and have complete portability and security that the premiums would be paid in the event I was laid off would be golden.

The key is figuring out how the Germans do it and adopting their practices in our health care system. Some immediate suggestions I would make would be monoposy negotiation with the drug companies for the absolute lowest prices available, tort reforms that eliminate jack pot settlements for malpractice, single payer negotiation with medical suppliers for the lowest prices (ie reflecting the same prices paid in Germany for comparable services). Of course each of these may have down sides (potential freezing of drug development, reduced compensation for medical malpractice, layoffs in drug and insurance companies, reduced compensation for health care providers, and availability of health care providers - both from providers exiting due to lowered compensation as well as additional demands on the system).

We need more domestically produced GPs and nurses to handle the additional demands of universal health care so many of the individuals from the impacted industries could be retrained??