Hillarycare Won't Cover Everyone, Berniecare Will

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

18 January 16

 

hile Hillary Clinton has made statements in the past in support of single-payer health care, she has never proposed it. Even in 1993, when she chaired Bill Clinton’s special commission on “universal" health care, she didn’t propose a plan that would have covered everyone. Like Obamacare, it had a mandate that said everyone has to buy into a private plan. She called it universal, but like Obamacare it would not have led to everyone getting health care.

Politicians have thrown around the term “universal health care” around, but rarely have they proposed it.

Hillary’s current plan is to defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) against Republican efforts to repeal it. According to her website, she is “committed to building on delivery system reforms in the Affordable Care Act that improve value and quality care for Americans.”

Bernie Sanders also would not repeal Obamacare without first passing a better plan. But if you listen to Hillary, you would think Bernie is ready to throw everyone off their health care. That couldn’t be further from truth.

Single-payer government-run health care is the only way we get to 100% coverage of every American. Insurance companies love the mandate, since it means people have to buy insurance, but the mandate does not lead to lower premiums and deductibles. Don’t get me wrong, I support Obamacare and have benefited from it, but I have an employer that is giving me $300 a month for health care. But as I sit here in my hospital bed, I still dread the portion of my hospital bill that I will have to pay. I am worried that if I can’t pay, I might lose my health care.

According to Bernie’s website:

The Affordable Care Act was a critically important step towards the goal of universal health care. Thanks to the ACA, more than 17 million Americans have gained health insurance. Millions of low-income Americans have coverage through expanded eligibility for Medicaid that now exists in 31 states. Young adults can stay on their parents’ health plans until they’re 26. All Americans can benefit from increased protections against lifetime coverage limits and exclusion from coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Bernie was on the U.S. Senate committee that helped write the ACA.

But as we move forward, we must build upon the success of the ACA to achieve the goal of universal health care. Twenty-nine million Americans today still do not have health insurance and millions more are underinsured and cannot afford the high copayments and deductibles charged by private health insurance companies that put profits before people.

Bernie Sanders’ proposal of Medicare for All will cover everything. Single payer is what works around the world and can work here. Bernie released his health care plan just hours before Sunday’s debate. The Clinton campaign is critical of his past legislation in Congress that would have put the states in charge. Bernie’s new plan is administered by the federal government, not by the states.

Under Obamacare som states have shortchanged their residents by refusing to set up exchanges or expand Medicaid. I am in Iowa, where there are no platinum plans. I am one who has high premiums and co-pays. I know single payer would save me money. I am willing to pay higher taxes for single-payer health care. I will save money.

According to the plan posted on his website, under the Sanders plan the marginal income tax rate would be:

• 37 percent on income between $250,000 and $500,000.


• 43 percent on income between $500,000 and $2 million.


• 48 percent on income between $2 million and $10 million. (In 2013, only 113,000 households, the top 0.08 percent of taxpayers, had income between $2 million and $10 million.)


• 52 percent on income above $10 million. (In 2013, only 13,000 households, just 0.01 percent of taxpayers, had income exceeding $10 million.)

This plan would be partly paid for by:

• A 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers.


• A 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households.


• This year, a family of four taking the standard deduction can have income up to $28,800 and not pay this tax under this plan. A family of four making $50,000 a year taking the standard deduction would only pay $466 this year.

These additional elements would pay for the remainder of the plan:

• Progressive income tax rates.


• Taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income from work.


• Limit tax deductions for rich.


• The Responsible Estate Tax


• Savings from health tax expenditures.

So it would be accurate to say taxes will go up, but the cost is offset by the end of premiums and co-pays. All you will have to do is go to the doctor. The bill will be paid for by the government. You won’t have to pay a dime.

All I see in Hillary Clinton’s health care plan is that she will fight to preserve and improve Obamacare. She will also address rising prescription drug costs.

According to Bernie’s website, his plan “will cover the entire continuum of health care, from inpatient to outpatient care; preventive to emergency care; primary care to specialty care, including long-term and palliative care; vision, hearing and oral health care; mental health and substance abuse services; as well as prescription medications, medical equipment, supplies, diagnostics and treatments. Patients will be able to choose a health care provider without worrying about whether that provider is in-network and will be able to get the care they need without having to read any fine print or trying to figure out how they can afford the out-of-pocket costs.”

So unless your employer is providing you with a great health care plan, you will save money on health,care. It is clear to me that we will get more and pay less for health care under Bernie Sanders.

---

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.