Reply #216: it's either a single payer, or 300 million...

[pretzel4gore]

the concept of 'medicare' hinges entirely upon the idea that the suppliers of services can't sell to competing payers, since there's only one payer. End of debate... And one payer removes the profiteering motive ...after a couple generations, the government knows what everything costs, knows what makes fair rewards for the suppliers, knows what it cost to make the drugs etc, iow the very thing that pisses off the patient in US for-profit system can't happen, because even the poorest most illiterate, foolish Canadian patient gets represented by people who also speak for the most powerful, most knowlegable. This aspect (that top flight professionals represent YOU, regardless of who you are, as routine) and gets you the best deal possible, is probably the thing that utterly enrages the pigs. and there's something wonderful about that...another thing peculiar to Canada is that, being next door to USA, huge numbers of americans somehow get serviced in Canada (humans being crafty fukkers) and wealthy Canadians spend money in US for treatment etc, money which counts as pure loss to Canada system- but despite this, and despite years of anti-insurance program propaganda poisoning opinions against the system, the Canadian system somehow STILL WORKS!
It would work alot better if US also went single payer (something noone dares mention)