Spectator has an interesting article out. You should read it. It claims that 42% of Americans are on government funded health care. I'm willing to believe that. it is 5% than one of my own attempts, but they included other programs that I didn't.
The interesting part is the author's claim that services like health care ought to be provided as a universal benefit. Otherwise the minority of Americans who are taxpayers end up getting taxed for nothing, essentially being robbed. I think that's a decent point, but I don't quite agree with the solution.
If we do go down the path of making health care a universal benefit, we'll end up, I feel, with an NHS of our own, which hasn't been a success. NHS in America would likely be an even quicker failure than in Britain. The NHS right now is hemorrhaging cash on compliance and data collection surrounding the internal market, which basically let contractors enter the system.
I can't imagine such a health care system being created in the US without such a market component in the first place. So any American NHS would be saddled with compliance and data collection to monitor contractors and determine contracts from the very beginning.
Food for thought. Introducing free markets to government programs isn't alway a good idea.
Showing posts with label Health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health care. Show all posts
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Thursday, March 1, 2018
MinnesotaCare Expansion Announced: One Step Closer to Single payer
Governor Dayton and the Democrats (you say DFL, I say Democrats) have announced plans to expand MinnesotaCare, a state program providing health care to individuals making less than 200% of the federal poverty level. The expansion would allow individuals with higher incomes to opt into the system, which will be a state run health plan.
The Democrats claim this will reduce costs. It isn't clear that will be the case. Whatever the merits, this expansion might really happen. Despite it being a terrible idea, I take comfort knowing, the states are the laboratories of democracy. Hopefully, we'll all take note of Minnesota's inevitable failure. But I doubt we will. Indeed, its inevitable failure might be considered a feature, not a bug.
According to Gerald Kominski, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the public option only makes sense in states where there are only a few providers in the ACA marketplace. So how big is Minnesota's ACA marketplace, MNsure?
4.
Minnesota started out with 5. But insurers, realizing that savings weren't to be found, have left the markets. This is a nationwide phenomena. Only 5% of counties have more than 5 or more plans available. The same thing happened to ACOs in Medicare Reform. We started out with 32. Now there are only 8.
This is deliberate. Democrats want the insurance markets to fail so they can introduce a public option. Remember, Obamacare was designed to fail. MinnesotaCare is designed to fail. When it does, Democrats will demand we do something to fix it. Don't be fooled.
Thanks for read.
The Democrats claim this will reduce costs. It isn't clear that will be the case. Whatever the merits, this expansion might really happen. Despite it being a terrible idea, I take comfort knowing, the states are the laboratories of democracy. Hopefully, we'll all take note of Minnesota's inevitable failure. But I doubt we will. Indeed, its inevitable failure might be considered a feature, not a bug.
According to Gerald Kominski, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the public option only makes sense in states where there are only a few providers in the ACA marketplace. So how big is Minnesota's ACA marketplace, MNsure?
4.
Minnesota started out with 5. But insurers, realizing that savings weren't to be found, have left the markets. This is a nationwide phenomena. Only 5% of counties have more than 5 or more plans available. The same thing happened to ACOs in Medicare Reform. We started out with 32. Now there are only 8.
This is deliberate. Democrats want the insurance markets to fail so they can introduce a public option. Remember, Obamacare was designed to fail. MinnesotaCare is designed to fail. When it does, Democrats will demand we do something to fix it. Don't be fooled.
Thanks for read.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
How many Americans are on Government Health Insurance?
How many Americans receive government health care? 40% of the respondents to the Harvard/Harris Poll receive government health care. How does this figure compare with other known figures?
In 2016, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 35% of Americans received health care from either Medicare, Medicaid, or another federal program.
Medicaid.............19%
Medicare.............14%
Other...................2%
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 37.3% of Americans received health care from either Medicare, Medicaid, or another federal program in 2016.
Medicaid.............16.7%
Medicare.............19.4%
Other.....................4.6%
It's interesting. Notice the difference in figures. Kaiser is basing it's data off a different report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, the March Current Population Survey. What I find particularly peculiar is how the ranking changes. According to Kaiser, Medicaid is the larger program. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Medicare is the larger program. A bit strange, isn't it?
Americans obviously care about health care. It is their top priority. But I for one, don't think government health care is the answer. As an avid watch of PMQ, I know how politicized health care can become. I also happen to know a few doctors that work in the NHS. They are constantly posting troubling stories, such as this one.
Government health care isn't cheap. If you want top service, you have to pay top dollars.
In 2016, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 35% of Americans received health care from either Medicare, Medicaid, or another federal program.
Medicaid.............19%
Medicare.............14%
Other...................2%
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 37.3% of Americans received health care from either Medicare, Medicaid, or another federal program in 2016.
Medicaid.............16.7%
Medicare.............19.4%
Other.....................4.6%
It's interesting. Notice the difference in figures. Kaiser is basing it's data off a different report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, the March Current Population Survey. What I find particularly peculiar is how the ranking changes. According to Kaiser, Medicaid is the larger program. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Medicare is the larger program. A bit strange, isn't it?
Americans obviously care about health care. It is their top priority. But I for one, don't think government health care is the answer. As an avid watch of PMQ, I know how politicized health care can become. I also happen to know a few doctors that work in the NHS. They are constantly posting troubling stories, such as this one.
Government health care isn't cheap. If you want top service, you have to pay top dollars.
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