Interesting alternative to the health care debate that I thought of

[Big Wiggly Style]

So I've been thinking the past few days about the issue of health care and the argument of free market vs. the mandate...and then I thought of this:

What if the government insured only those who cannot afford health care and left health care choice to individuals who can afford it.

Does anybody think this could work? Or is there some fatal flaw that I'm overlooking?

[Simfan34]

It's called Medicaid.

[Big Wiggly Style]

It's called Medicaid.

I see.

[Simfan34]

It's called Medicaid.

I see.

I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but you've basically described what Medicaid is.

[Big Wiggly Style]

It's called Medicaid.

I see.

I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but you've basically described what Medicaid is.

I didn't mean it condescendingly, I just had forgotten about medicaid.

[© Tweed the Younger]

It's called Medicaid.

I see.

I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but you've basically described what Medicaid is.

I didn't mean it condescendingly, I just had forgotten about medicaid.

that's ok, they don't want you to know about it - and it won't exist for much longer.

[Simfan34]

It's called Medicaid.

I see.

I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but you've basically described what Medicaid is.

I didn't mean it condescendingly, I just had forgotten about medicaid.

Oh, okay. I couldn't tell whether that was sarcasm or not.

[Big Wiggly Style]

It's called Medicaid.

I see.

I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but you've basically described what Medicaid is.

I didn't mean it condescendingly, I just had forgotten about medicaid.

that's ok, they don't want you to know about it - and it won't exist for much longer.

lol

[Bacon King]

Medicaid doesn't cover poor people. It covers some: poor children, poor olds, poor parents, and poor disableds. A man 20-64 can't get Medicaid coverage even with an income of zero unless he's married to a woman with a kid, or is blind/in a wheelchair or otherwise disabled (and can't even get any treatment for HIV until it officially turns inti full-blown AIDS).

Extension of medicaid to cover all poors but probably have like ten times the cost of obamacare, especially with no mandate-esque price-limiting mechanism.

[Big Wiggly Style]

Extension of medicaid to cover all poors but probably have like ten times the cost of obamacare, especially with no mandate-esque price-limiting mechanism.

I don't understand how it would cost more to cover less people...

[white trash heroes]

or you could just support universal healthcare instead of getting into contortions over supporting basically the same thing but not really.

[Senator Napoleon]

or you could just support universal healthcare instead of getting into contortions over supporting basically the same thing but not really.

Which is in many ways a more right wing position as it is less redistributive than having those who can afford to pay their own way do so..

[Bacon King]

Extension of medicaid to cover all poors but probably have like ten times the cost of obamacare, especially with no mandate-esque price-limiting mechanism.

I don't understand how it would cost more to cover less people...

The mandate is designed to reduce the cost of health insurance; healthy young people getting insurance en masse lowers collective risk and makes everyone's payments cheaper. In the PPACA's private insurance model, people still pay for their own insurance, just the poor get it subsidized from the government, so those cost reductions apply to that assistance as well.

Without the mandate or other ways to limit costs, tripling the size of medicaid overnight would have a devastating impact on federal and state budgets, especially in comparison to the more-or-less revenue neutral Obamacare.

[batmacumba]

Any non-universal form of wellfare will fatally evolve to a situation in which those who can pay get good services while those who cannot ends with lame wellfare. So, you create a situation in which you cannot provide essential human rights' issues in a fair manner and fail to provide equal opportunities.