can you have Single Payer and keep insurance companies?

We have them here on DU.

Bookmarking for a good response.

I think stockholders might be ticked, but life is tough sometimes. They can invest elsewhere and create jobs. Silk stocking execs can go as poster above said. Staff folks can continue on.

You recogize a serious issue, which is a big part of the reason this effort has been so difficult.

From what I understand, most of the nations that have socialized healthcare, also have private, for-profit insurance agencies operating to cover what the state plan doesn't.

That all good ... assuming the state plan is adequate.

like private rooms (which currently insurance doesn't cover). I believe that is done in France.

and the insurance companies would supply Medigap insurance for doctor visits, labs, equipment and the rest of the potential crap it takes to keep some of us alive.

So yes, had they done the sensible thing and started to lower the Medicare age (but were blocked by that worm Lieberman), the insurance companies would be gleeful. They've always done a much better job on supplementary insurance than on the bulk of the insurance.

I took my mom to Kaiser out in LA. And you just realize you're dealing with monsters as far as these insurance companies go. They make so much money. They like the system just the way it is. Regardless if they say it.

Anything that goes beyond the scope of what the single-payer law would provide (check out HR 676. It's really a thing of beauty and simplicity) would become the purview of private insurers. Advertisers are geniuses at convincing us to purchase things we don't really need, so I'm confident that it wouldn't take long for private insurers to have us all clamoring for nose jobs, breast enhancements, and dog knows what else.

death penalty for attempting to write/sell MEDICAL insurance policies, lol. The bloodsucking middlemen can go suck an egg as far as I'm concerned.