Anyone for Medicare?

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Thursday September 03, 2009 · 6:20 AM PDT

2009/09/03 · 06:20

I just don't get the controversy in the Health Care reform debate.

I admit, I am not American although I do live here. I am not steeped in the processes at work in Congress, but I am learning.

This one is easy tho :)

Why is there a fight at all?

Why do we have two or three different Bills making their torturous way through the various legislative bodies?

The US already has Government run, single payer healthcare, which is supported by both sides, and, generally, approved of as to it's scope and efficiency. It already covers a good proportion of the population and comes complete with infra-structure and name recognition.

It is called Medicare.

The only problem is that you can't join it until later in life, or if you become disabled.

So change the rules. That doesn't require major legislation, and even if it did, it's a far easier sell that the current attempts.

Paying for it is easy too.

Charge those who join a monthly fee, set it at about 10% of salary for earnings between $15000 and $75000. Employers can pay the same, but on the whole salary. Spouses and children are covered free.

In the early years it will be expensive, because the first to be covered will be those who can not pay. It will not be long though, before others do the math, and the sign up will happen almost universally, especially when employers realise the savings they will make by dropping expensive private insurance, and opting into Medicare.

I rather think it is a price worth paying

This is not Socialist Care, it is Social Care. The very care that America is proud of. It is communities help individuals. You hear this preached every Sunday; we even heard Crazy Colburn suggest it at a Town Hall, when he talked about Neighbourliness.

I, like the President, am happy to leave Congress to work out the details :) The principle is non-negotiable. We know it would pass the House which makes the job easier because our efforts need only be directed towards a dozen Senators.

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