Can It Happen Here? (Krugman on Healthcare)

[depakid]

The draft Democratic Party platform that was sent out last week puts health care reform front and center. “If one thing came through in the platform hearings,” says the document, “it was that Democrats are united around a commitment to provide every American access to affordable, comprehensive health care.”

Can Democrats deliver on that commitment? In principle, it should be easy. In practice, supporters of health care reform, myself included, will be hanging on by their fingernails until legislation is actually passed.

What’s easy about guaranteed health care for all? For one thing, we know that it’s economically feasible: every wealthy country except the United States already has some form of guaranteed health care. The hazards Americans treat as facts of life — the risk of losing your insurance, the risk that you won’t be able to afford necessary care, the chance that you’ll be financially ruined by medical costs — would be considered unthinkable in any other advanced nation.

The politics of guaranteed care are also easy, at least in one sense: if the Democrats do manage to establish a system of universal coverage, the nation will love it.

I know that’s not what everyone says; some pundits claim that the United States has a uniquely individualistic culture, and that Americans won’t accept any system that makes health care a collective responsibility. Those who say this, however, seem to forget that we already have a program — you may have heard of it — called Medicare. It’s a program that collects money from every worker’s paycheck and uses it to pay the medical bills of everyone 65 and older. And it’s immensely popular.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/11krugman.html?hp

[raccoon]

1. C'mon, let's get this on Greatest!

edited to add: Oh, and Rec'd.

[mzmolly]

2. K and R

:toast:

[Lugnut]

3. K&R n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Medicare is not only immensely popular, it is immensely SUCCESSFUL!!

[Aragorn]

5. contradictions

For the longest time doctors and hospitals etc did not like Medicare, mostly because it pays less. It had more paperwork too. Now both have changed. Private insurance has more paperwork and pays poorly, if it even pays (see "Sicko").

Single-payer healthcare is the only answer.

[justgamma]

6. That's the beauty of this plan.

There is a choice. As Edwards' explained, if you choose the public policy it will be cheaper. When people see this work, they will move to the public plan and eventually it may lead to single payer.