Bernie Sanders advocates for a single payer Medicare for All system in the United States. Many people thought that the US finally achieved that with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), but it turned out that the US is still far away from reaching that goal and 33 million Americans are still without Healthcare coverage.
Bernie's main argument is that no one should be denied healthcare just because of his or her income. Imagine a child who was born to a low income family, with no fault of his or her own, dies due to lack of health coverage. No one would disagree that this is a tragedy, and sadly this is not an uncommon scenario. 17,000 children who didn't have healthcare coverage died and as much as 45,000 Americans die every year because of it. Bernie Sanders glares at the immorality of the situation and doesn't doubt for a second that this should be more than enough of a reason to justify implementing a single payer Medicare for All.
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way. While most people would agree with Bernie on this issue in principle, they still want to know: "What's in it for me?" Some worry that the economy would collapse or that healthcare quality would deteriorate. And nothing freaks them out more than the possibility of increasing their taxes. To hell with poor people!
Bernie rebuts by pointing to all the countries that succeeded in guaranteeing healthcare to all of its citizens like Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Japan and the UK. But what Bernie Sanders doesn't say, or at least doesn't say quite enough:
1. Private Insurance and Obamacare don't end medical bankruptcies
80% of people who go bankrupt due to healthcare costs are insured. In fact, medical bills are the biggest cause for all bankruptcies! That's a real tragedy.
2. American companies are at a competitive disadvantage with their global competitors because of healthcare costs
Bernie mostly focuses on the benefits of single payer Healthcare to the average person, but what he doesn't say is that corporations are at a competitive disadvantage compared to their global competitors. Autoweek reports that “Japan’s health care gives Toyota edge [over GM]”. GM could have launched 3 additional new-model programs if it didn’t have to pay for its retirees’ health care.
3. Single payer Healthcare would reduce strain on Corporations and small businesses
The cost for businesses to provide healthcare insurance to its employees is significant. Small businesses are the most impacted by this burden. Not only do these costs weaken businesses and in some cases even threaten their viability, these costs are usually passed over to the consumers in the form of increased prices. GM reports that healthcare costs add between $1,500 and $2,000 to the sticker price of every automobile it makes.
4. While Obamacare had great benefits, it had contributed to the skyrocketing premiums
Healthcare premiums continue to skyrocket. There are many factors such as the rising costs of prescription drugs, increasing healthcare costs, aging population and the deterioration of health overall. But Obamacare is also one of the factors that contributed to the rise in healthcare premiums. Many businesses were forced to cut jobs or cruelly cut healthcare benefits.
Single payer Healthcare is by far the best system to help address the rising costs of healthcare.
5. Single payer would end exploitation of some businesses
Under Obamacare, businesses with 50 employees or more must provide healthcare benefits. This caused some businesses, in the most ruthless manner, to cut back employee hours to part-time to avoid paying for their health coverage.
6. US Healthcare spending is unsustainable
Bernie Sanders emphasizes that the US spends significantly more on healthcare than any other country in the world. But what he doesn't mention is that the US health costs are expected to rise from 17% of the GDP to 25% by 2025, to 49% in 2082.
7. Even with Obamacare, someone may still be denied critical care, such as organ transplantation, if he or she is uninsured
Thanks to Obamacare, 16.4 million more Americans now have insurance. But as I said earlier, there are still 33 million Americans who could at one point also share George, Evelyn or Regions stories. George, a 22 year old, was refused a transplant evaluation because he was uninsured. Evelyn who had a tumor, had to wait until she became 65 for Medicare to kick in, at which point her tumor grew to a life-threatening 51 pounds! Regions who was denied an organ transplant describes his situation:
“There's really nothing I can do," said Regions, a freelance photographer in Campti, La. "I don't have the insurance to do it right now. They are treating the symptoms. I'm managing, but I know I'm slowly getting worse and it's not going to get any better.”
This is not the type of healthcare that a major country should be proud of.
8. Single payer would end the impact of Job Locks on the economy
Job Lock is the inability of an employee to leave his job because he or she would lose healthcare insurance. This has a direct impact in reducing entrepreneurship in the US where it's estimated that it affects about 4 million Americans. A study showed that, in California alone, a 2002 job lock affected 179,000 people, with $722 million in foregone productivity. Job locks would cease to exist in a single payer Healthcare system.
9. Single payer improves the population health
WHO reports that Medicare for All leads to better access to necessary care and improved population health, with the largest gains accruing to poorer people.
Medicare for All facilitates access to preventive care which is a key factor in expanding the average person's lifespan and is extremely important for the health of an individual.
IOM reports that uninsured adults are less likely to receive recommended screening services. In fact, not even all health insurance plans cover all types of preventive care. Patients with high deductibles or no insurance are not likely to have regular checkups to manage their diseases. Up to 25% of diabetes patients go without a checkup for two years! Uninsured women have 30-50% higher risk of dying. Insurance reduces mortality by 71-85% of HIV patients in the first 6 months. Not to mention the benefit impacts to mental health, hospital care, traumatic injuries, etc.
10. Deductibles are too damn high!
Many health plans have high deductibles. Even Obamacare bronze plan has a deductible of $6,600 per year! Even a Republican, Joe Schmick, once said:
“Do I really have insurance when I have to pay this much out of my pocket? It doesn’t feel that way.”
11. United States quality of healthcare is unimpressive
In a study of the healthcare systems of 11 major countries, the United States fared dead last. Another study ranking all the healthcare systems in the world, the United States was ranked an embarrassing 37th in the world. To add insult to injury, every single country above it had a Medicare for All healthcare system.
12. Single payer Healthcare is by far less expensive than the current Healthcare system
Bernie Sanders mentioned many times that a single payer Medicare for All system would be more cost effective. However, a Wall Street Journal article stated that single payer Healthcare would cost the US an additional $15 trillion over 10 years. Bernie Sanders vigorously rejected that claim and argued that it would lead to huge savings. But what Bernie Sanders doesn't say is how much the current system would save over the next 10 years. Bernie Sanders should refer to the Professor of Economics Gerald Friedman article which explains that the cost of doing nothing is $20 trillion over 10 years, which means that Bernie Sanders plan would save $5 trillion.
When Hillary Clinton attacked Bernie Sanders that Medicare for All would increase taxes on the middle class, Bernie's campaign responded by explaining that the average family would save about $5000 per year.
No matter how you look at it, a single payer Medicare for All system would save a lot of lives and drastically improve healthcare in the US. While Bernie Sanders is never seen as the champion for Corporate America, yet surprisingly, corporations and small businesses would benefit significantly from single payer Medicare for All. That's why it shouldn't be shocking that even the Republicans front runner Donald Trump would favor a single payer Healthcare.
