ACA Repeal/Replace: Progressives Face Moral Dilemma

[Warren Dew]

(01-22-2017, 04:53 AM)Ragnarök_62 Wrote:

Warren Dew Wrote:It's arguable whether the rate increases slowed.  It's pretty clear that when  you include skyrocketing deductibles and not just premiums, health care costs are rising as fast as ever for most people.

Again... Why the hell do we even need useless middlemen , health care INSURANCE companies?  Let's just drop the eligibility age of Medicare to 0 from 65. Just juse a VAT tax to fund it.  The payroll tax for Medicare would go away along with all of those health insurance premiums.  It's just stupid to tie health care to employment.

The reason it's stupid to tie health care to employment is because then the incentives are misaligned between the payer - the employer - and the patient, resulting in inefficient allocation of resources.  That problem applies in spades when you tie health care to the government.

What's needed is for people to pay for their own health care, whether it's directly or through an insurer.  If you really want to subsidize it, give everyone a voucher or a universal basic subsidy.