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December 19, 2005
Good Stuff
I don't know when the New York Times worked up the courage to actually propose some health care solutions, but it's certainly a refreshing change. This article explaining that the health care deduction on your income taxes is an absurdly regressive measure that entrenches the perverse and inequitable elements of the system is great stuff, but watching it venture a step further and sketch out how the money could be re-channeled to create universal care is a near-revelation. I didn't know newspapers could be so constructive! And then to straight up explain that Americans will resist this out of self-interest...I mean, man, I need a cigarette over here.
Whew.
December 19, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Great article. Thanks for pointing it out.
Posted by: P.M.Bryant | Dec 19, 2005 4:01:42 PM
Good information, thanks for the link.
It seems that this proposal like almost all others that that get printed in the MSM assume that the health insurance industry has to have a place at the table in health care reform. Why?
Oh I know realistically that they have gobs of money and will skew the debate in their favor. But the reason they have gobs of money is because they have already profited exorbitantly from the current subsidy program. Isn't mandating health insurance coverage just a different way to subsidize them? And why is that a better idea than just opening up Medicare to the general population?
Posted by: Emma Zahn | Dec 19, 2005 4:05:04 PM
Emma,
A lot of Medicare is already through private health care. The new drug benefit is entirely through private companies. Medicare doesn't mean government-run insurance for all its enrollees; it means government paid for. Medicaid is more what you're thinking.
And the problem isn't necessarily private insurers themselves. Many countries (France, Germany, Japan) have excellent systems that are public/private hybrids. The problem is the patchwork way we provide care, the way we let private insurers refuse coverage, and the way there is no standardization between regions.
Posted by: Kate | Dec 19, 2005 6:58:52 PM
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