Miles Mogulescu: Why Not Single Payer? Part 6: New "Health Care For America Now" Coalition May Reflect Divisions in the Movement for Universal Healthcare - Politics on The Huffington Post

Miles Mogulescu: Why Not Single Payer? Part 6: New "Health Care For America Now" Coalition May Reflect Divisions in the Movement for Universal Healthcare - Politics on The Huffington Post

We all saw sicko, but many of us also saw Frontline's Sick Around the World program : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

Certainly Single payer can work and might be the best system possible, but I don't think the Bismarkian systems of Germany, Switzerland and others can be dismissed out of hand. If you go to the frontline website and watch the show, be sure to read the supplementary materials, especially he interview with Uwe Reinhardt. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/interviews/reinhardt.html

I had not given Bismarkian systems much thought until I heard a representative from the Stark Raving Loonie Party (Sorry, that's Python - I meant the Fraser Institute of Canada) actually confess that he could see working with reform along the Bismarkian lines:http://cmhmd.blogspot.com/2008/03/single-payer-debate-at-duquesne-u-31008.html

Further, Sen. Ron Wyden and others have introduced a plan along these lines, so HR 676 isn't the only ball in play at the moment.
Wyden Press release: http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=297073&
Other commentary: http://www.blueoregon.com/2006/12/progressives_re.html

So I guess I'd say not to discount the Wyden plan out of hand as not being "pure" single payer. because we have examples of this system working as well as single payer can.

Cheers,

Sphere: Related Content