Medicare and Medicaid Destroyed Healthcare

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Medicare and Medicaid Destroyed Healthcare | Jacob G. Hornberger

In a December 1 article entitled “Yes, Americans are Feeling the Squeeze. It’s Coming from Health Care,” Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson points out that “In the early 1960s, before Medicare and Medicaid, which were enacted in 1965, health spending was about 2 percent of federal outlays. Now it is nearly one-third, at $1.3 trillion.”

Samuelson goes on to observe that

Government can’t cut health spending, so new spending reduces spending on other programs, raises taxes or bloats deficits. The effects are felt keenly by middle-income Americans and the poor, because the high cost of modern medicine consumes more of their incomes. We have created a monster, inspired by good intentions, that is slowly and menacingly taking charge of our future.

Unfortunately, Samuelson doesn’t wrap up his article with the obvious conclusion, that the only possible solution to America’s healthcare crisis lies with repealing Medicare and Medicaid and, in a broader context, ending government involvement in healthcare.

Before Medicare and Medicaid, the United States had the finest healthcare system in history. Healthcare costs were low and stable, to such an extent that most people didn’t even have major medical insurance. That’s because they didn’t need it. Going to the doctor was like going to the grocery store. How many people have grocery insurance to help them cover soaring grocery costs? Healthcare costs were just as low and stable as grocery store prices, so there was no need for major medical insurance.
 
It seems the article is referring to govt spending of taxpayer dollars for health care. Not CONSUMER spending.

I guess the author of this article doesn't realize when you give something away for "free" it is impossible to stop. Plus it stimulates demand which leads to rising prices.

This isn't just limited to health care. The same can be said for college tuition. Housing. Welfare.

I find it odd that when talk turns to govt spending the first attack is Medicare and Social Security.

Never any discussion about reduced funding for UNEARNED welfare benefits.

Americans paid in to Social Security and Medicare during their working years. Those programs are perhaps the only "social" programs where there is cost sharing.

The other programs are never earned, just handed out.
 
The modern mortgage made home ownership affordable for more Americans. It simultaneously made house prices go up faster than they would have otherwise.

Back in the day, mortgages had shorter terms and balloon payments. And were much harder to qualify for. (By back in the day, I mean before WWII.)

The modern mortgage created more demand since more people could qualify for mortgages, so that forced prices up.

I think the same thing happened with health care. Both private and public health insurance meant that more people could afford heart surgeries and their stays in the maternity ward.

I think we'd have the same phenomenon if we just only had private health insurance. But public health insurance poured more gasoline on that fire.

When demand grows faster than supply, prices go up.

Without insurance there would be less profit. Without the profit motive we'd probably be without MRIs or any medical procedure that cost more than a few weeks salary, IMO.

But the procedures we'd have would be way more affordable.

On balance is that good or bad?

I dunno.

So far, I haven't had an MRI that changed the doctor's mind about anything. My wallet and I just got nuked to confirm his or her original diagnosis.
 
Over 80% of dentists do not participate in any networks, but almost all will file claims on your behalf and will NOT discount their rates. Dentistry is predominantly a pay as you go cash industry. And prices have not increased significantly over time.

Early eye surgery, radial keratotomy, laser surgery, etc were not covered by insurance. And still aren't. These procedures were/are mostly considered cosmetic and not a medical necessity.

Cosmetic eye surgery which is also a pay as you go industry shows dramatic price drops over the years.

Health insurance definitely does fuel price increases but also makes many conditions once considered fatal to have high survival rates.

Quality of life is a different debate.

Prescription drug prices continue to climb because almost everyone has Rx coverage and almost all plans have copay's. When drugs were subject to the major medical deductible and paid for in cash prices were lower and so was claim utilization. The introduction of the Rx copay is one of the worst things to happen and made drugs LESS affordable, not more so. Combine that with DTC advertising and the drug industry has exploded.
 
Going to the doctor was like going to the grocery store. How many people have grocery insurance to help them cover soaring grocery costs?
Healthcare costs were just as low and stable as grocery store prices, so there was no need for major medical insurance.

What? Why does meat sometimes go so high, Or flounder remember when flounder was cheep and an everyday item Um Many things cost a whole lot more then they used to as well

The gas used to be under a dollar then it started to rise every couple months for a while $120 $1.50 $2.00

I don't remember Gas insurance becoming a thing

There are many things like that

I don't get the articles analogy
 
Everybody in America deserves access to caviar, lobster, and ribeyes - not just the filthy rich, right?

A while ago I was in a Whole Foods store (now owned by Amazon). Quality food, both fresh and prepared "hot bar". The couple in front of me had some high priced seafood, steaks as well as food from the hot bar and a couple bottles of nice wine.

They paid for the food using their EBT card. The wine had to paid separately . . . with their "Platinum" card.

Don't recall the total but the amount charged to EBT was over $100.

I only had a few items so I left the store soon after their transaction.

They loaded their groceries into a new Lincoln Navigator with out of state plates.

EBT been berry, berry good to them.
 
When W suggested we should be allowed to privately invest part of our SS his opponents had a conniption fit. His good idea was DOA. If that wasn't doable nothing short of catastrophic collapse will cut federal programs.

Although, I hear MAGA Man wants to cut food stamps so those what haul lobster home in their Lincoln will have to work some.

It's a shame, if Trump were not so abrasive he'd be a shoe-in for re-election. I'm not a big fan of his but his opponents are even worse. I found the pothead to be the lesser of three evils so, Johnson got my vote last time. Trump didn't have a chance in my state anyway.

Regarding healthcare in The US, an outside observer may find it curious that we spend so much on pleasure and frivolous luxury yet whine about the cost of healthcare. Just how high a priority is it? For example, it seems most poor people have a lot of tattoos so, in effect, we'll chip in for those when they need healthcare.
 
I'm so sick of hearing the poor are suffering because of healthcare cost, And we need to pay

I saw another article on how Trump's tax cuts benefit the middle class and hurt the poor as they don't get extra per child and healthcare cost yada yada some baloney twist

He is the deal, When I made under 40K I didn't pay for ins, When I made 60K I did very well,

Then it slides away as I go up, at 100 K I am not making enough money to cover healthcare cost and adding debt because of everything Healthcare skyrockets at that income with a family of 4

I have to be over 120K in order to get above the cost of making money

Baloney info being pushed everywhere

This system is designed to keep the poor from wanting to get out of poverty, because the consequences of making a little more is not worth it unless you are going to make a lot more
 
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