Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The no-free-lunch saying rings true with me, but wait there is more!

Your second sentence is interesting to me, superwoman, because I thought the very same thing. Ever since I saw this movie, I could seriously consider moving to another country. Still, I realize that there is no "free lunch" anywhere but that is what inspires me to want single payer or universal health care for the US even more. Ultimately, it is a matter of what route the county's economy is going to take, but with an added bonus if it does the universal/single payer plan. If not paying for health insurance through higher taxes we are paying for it from our own sales taxes and personal payroll. For example, each USC student currently pays about $935 a year. According to the National Coalition on Health care about 80% of US population has health insurance. If those people, through some way or another, hypothetically released and pooled their yearly premium money together, assuming a US population of 300 million, it would add up to at least 240 billion dollars a year, payable to a kind of universal/single payer health insurance. The bonus being able to cover the other 20% who are currently uninsured.
When I see the movie, for the second time, tomorrow I am going to question every positive aspect of universal health insurance. Our country's own form of single payer health insurances are not doing so good. I was talking to a friend yesterday who's doctor she works due to plan reimbursements does not accept Medicaid because it pays too little but does accept and barely makes her money back with Medicare. If we ever switch to a single payer or universal health plan, we need to make sure this will not happen. In a way Medicaid and Medicare are mini experiments for single payer and that worries me, just a little bit, shh don't tell anyone!

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