Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Unless the "public option" is free or inexpensive it's snake oil.. and dangerous snake oil at that. [View all]lark
(23,058 posts)What would happen to Medicaid, it is the ultimate single payer because the enrollee pays nothing or at most a small co-pay for services. I don't see how both could function in the same space when they'd be competing for the same people. Qualifying for Medicaid is hard for adults, what would be the qualifications for single payer and would single payer be able to negotiate like Medicaid and Tricare with pharmaceutical companies? Then there's the issue of supply. I can tell you that the number of hospitals and doctors that accept Medicaid is small. I'm sure single payer will have even worse access issues since it won't have the volumes of Medicaid.
I think Medicare for all who want it may be the best way to go. The people who have poverty or near levels of income would also qualify for Medicaid which would cover up to 200% of the FPL. Now that I'm retired, I'm a lot more cognizant of the cost of things and how everything interacts, so am now not so sold on adding a single payer option onto the ACA. If I'm wrong about this, please let me know where I've erred.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden