We’re going to hear hybrid plans for health care from some of the 20 Democrats still running for the Presidency. There is still the “Medicare for All” plan touted by socialists Sanders and Warren, but now entering the ring is the, “if you like your plan, you can keep it” crowd lead by Biden. That is, some combination of private and public health care plans. The reason these plans have little chance of success is simple; the government can always print more money to cover its losses while a public company must rely on its own moxie to remain solvent.
Most Democrat candidates know that Medicare for All/Single Payer is a tough sell to the majority of voters right now. Incremental change is always better when you’re talking about disruptive policies. If you’ve followed any governmental program, they all start modestly and then end up gargantuan. Social Security crowded out individual attention to retirement. Medicare has overtaken private health insurance for seniors. Suggesting that a hybrid public/private health insurance plan won’t do the same is folly and the Democrats know it. The whole idea is to build on Obamacare and continue to crowd out private health insurance.
The way it is done is to undercut private health insurance rates even though they are actuarially unsound. Again, with no insurance department to check whether rates are sufficient to cover costs and certainly no regard for tapping taxpayers when there is a need to refill the coffers, public insurance will always win over private insurance. Once decimated, private insurance will not be able to recover and eventually be out of business. The result is the desired goal; single payer government provided health care.
Welcome to socialist medicine. You may want to talk to your friends in Canada or England about their experiences with their systems.
Current Day Publius 